Brice Randall Bickford established the Strugglers in 2001 and has served as the chief architect of their country-tinged, midtempo songcraft in his role as frontman. Drawing on assistance from an ever-changing roster of supporting players, he shaped an atmospheric aesthetic equally informed by Will Oldham, Red House Painters, and Neil Young, pairing it with vocals that quiver in similar fashion. The group’s first full-length, Done by the Strugglers, appeared the same year, after which Bickford continued to expand the band’s melancholic repertoire across later releases such as 2003’s New Room, 2005’s You Win, and the Fair Store EP. Even though the Strugglers’ work evokes the pastoral scenery of Bickford’s home state of North Carolina, the European imprint Acuarela Discos has consistently backed the ensemble and has put out several of their recordings, among them The Latest Rights in 2008.
