To Be Continued, out January 30 on Drag City imprint Country Thyme, is a grand entry in the canon of outside/inside rock and roll records by an emerging master of the form: ER Jurken. His sophomore LP is an exquisite and timeless musical expression that meets the desperation of the modern world on the beach, with a disarmingly allusive, tuneful and surprising spirit. Today, the lead single, “I Do,” releases with a music video directed by Mark Greenberg.

ER Jurken’s songwriting, as evidenced by his acclaimed first album I Stand Corrected, is inclined to wander through the past century or so of American music with a uniquely insouciant flair. On his debut, Ed (as his friends call him) did most of the playing himself; To Be Continued finds his baroque folk-pop fantasias literally on the rocks — because this time around, Ed’s got a power trio of players from Chicago’s Junegrass (Ben Brazil, Grant Engstrom and Jack Schemenauer) to help him crank it up and out of the park. Ed ensconced himself once again at The Loft, with Mark Greenberg and Rian Murphy assisting the production. Once up in the air, his heavenly high tenor and vocal choir melodies further extrude the twisted psyche that underscores Ed & Co’s easy riding rock ‘n roll. Spelled in spots by Paul Von Mertens’ extraordinary string and horn arrangements, the songs of To Be Continued aggressively transcend and defy the stings of everyday misfortune.

On “I Do,” Jurken sends this ditty flying high in the wind like a scrap of that ol’ west coast sound. Glancing through moments of everyday existence & existentialism, ER turns up gospel flavor on the chorus, lyrically saying ‘yes’ to ‘saying yes’ while the band supplies affirmatively lithe country rock backing. They bounce and glide over the trail, steel strings glinting in the open air in a fashion that’d please any Byrds fan or Beachwood Sparks devotee. Watch Mark Greenberg’s flashy music video for “I Do,” and continue towards To Be Continued on January 30, 2026!