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No Depression Features New Track From Chuck Westmoreland

“With each of these songs I was hoping to create a little world that I could crawl into. Those are the kinds of songs I really love and obsess over.” 

Chuck Westmoreland has announced the release of his sophomore LP Long Winter Rodeo, a collection of country-tinged character sketches displaying a songwriting prowess that recalls the introspective storytelling of Taylor Goldsmith and the brutal honesty of John Moreland.

With plenty of ebb and flow between sparse acoustic instrumentation and driving electric guitars, there is a majestic grandeur permeating Long Winter Rodeo which is led by a strong songwriting foundation, especially on tracks such as the album’s searing bookend, “Slaughtered.” “I’m ready to go,” Westmoreland sings, “and I’m ready for salvation.” Armed with only a guitar, his voice cuts to the bone, conjuring a romantic tale inspired by his grandparents, who lived on the Texas-Louisiana state line. It’s a story about a hired hand working the land for an older couple, whose daughter happens to be away at college. He’s 19, young and rugged. Not only does he grow fond of his employers but of the many photos of their daughter along the walls. “It’s in a very genuine way,” Westmoreland clarifies. “He doesn’t meet her for years. Time goes by, and her parents get sick. She finally comes back for her dad’s funeral, and he ends up holding her hand and being with her in her time of mourning.”

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PopMatters Premieres New Single From Leslie Tom

With her new single, Leslie Tom poses the question: “Are You Ready For Some Hanky Panky?” The artist’s frisky play on words is actually in tribute to Hank Williams, taking listeners straight back to a 1950s honky-tonk with its classic country sound. Featuring jazz-infused electric guitar riffs and old-school pedal steel licks, Tom exchanges verses with Dean Miller as they dish the dirt on Williams’ life and times. The “hanky panky” under the spotlight comes in at the chorus, where Tom and Miller ask their audience the question in an energetic ode to the country legend.

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Glide Magazine Reviews Great Peacock’s New LP

Great Peacock Courtesy of Rachel Hurley
Great Peacock photo by Rachel Hurley

There are times where a band’s name and album cover provide little or no indication of what to expect. And when said references offer an image that’s the exact opposite of the music that accompanies those initial impressions, it may dissuade any initial encounter. The fact is, Great Peacock’s handle and the peacock covered skull head that adorns the cover of the band’s new album Gran Pavo Real offer no real reason to give any further thought to the music that may reside within…

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PopMatters Premieres New Single From Charlie Overbey

Growing up listening to the likes of Johnny Cash and Tom Petty, Charlie Overbey brings grassy rock ‘n’ roll to the table that’s reminiscent of the music of his inspirations. Lynwood might not be the first place one might expect to raise an alt-country career from the earth, but Overbey’s career has grown out of rocking the Southern California circuit with his outlaw grit. Blossoming from there, the Americana artist has garnered fans across the country who are looking forward to the release of his forthcoming album, Broken Arrow, on 20 April.

Performing with Miranda Lee Richards, “Slip Away” is the latest single from off of the incoming LP. It’s a poignant, dark-laced number in which Overbey bears his whole heart, dedicating his emotional duet to a departed friend. The song’s gentle sway lets listeners slip into its powerful performance easy as Overbey and Richards’ emotive delivery gains steam as the arrangement runs its course. Richards’ warm whiskey vocals pair perfectly with Overbey’s grit, taking the piece to stirring new heights.

Overbey tells PopMatters, ‘”Slip Away’ was written directly following the loss of someone in my deep inner circle that was ruled to be an accident but to me seemed a suicide. I tend to like to leave things to the imagination and incorporate, especially in dark times elements of hope. I did not feel the need to mention suicide—nobody needs to be thinking about or even reminded that this is an option.”

“I do think that in times of despair, people tend to find warmth in darkness, which is a trick of the mind as referred to in my favorite line in the song: “And then you gimme’ that look / yeah you gimme that look, like you’re never comin’ back again / like you’ve crawled down into a deep dark hole / and it’s warm like the house of a friend.”

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PopMatters Premieres New Song from Kellen of Troy

Kellen of Troy Photo by Libby Danforth

Nashville-based folk-rocker Kellen Wenrich (Kellen of Troy) is taking a stand alongside the millions rallying around the world during the March For Our Lives. His newest video is a simple construct, featuring white text over a black backdrop, echoing Wenrich’s words one scathing truth after the other on “Just a Couple More”. It’s an evaluation of the times, shining a spotlight on politicians who would rather funnel donations from the NRA and like-minded organizations than campaign for real justice and peace in the light of the United States’ mass shooting epidemic.

Kellen of Troy says, “I wrote ‘Just a Couple More’ in the aftershock of the horrific shooting in Parkland, Florida. My friend Gavin Paddock posed a challenge-to-all-songwriters to write something a-la CSNY’s ‘Ohio’, dealing with gun control (or lack thereof) and the culture surrounding mass shootings in America. I took up the charge, writing and sending him a demo within 72 hours. He called me about 30 minutes later asking how he could help make the song a reality.”

Any and all proceeds from “Just a Couple More” will be donated to the March For Our Lives movement.

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Glide Magazine Premieres New Track From Great Peacock

Great Peacock Courtesy of Rachel Hurley
Great Peacock photo by Rachel Hurley

Spitting stories of love, loss and pain, Nashville’s Great Peacock⎯⎯ comprised of lead singer and guitarist Andrew Nelson, guitarist Blount Floyd, drummer Nick Recio and bass player Frank Keith IV ⎯⎯ challenge the very notion of genre, dismantling tradition and blurring the lines between rock ‘n roll, conventional folk music and true Americana. As fixtures in the Southern festival circuit including Shakey Knees, they’ve shared stages with an abundance of equally-minded noise-makers, including Colter Wall, Hurray for the Riff Raff, Cage the Elephant, American Aquarium, Margo Priceand Jonathan Tyler.

The band is gearing up for the release of their upcoming second album, Gran Pavo Real (out Mar. 30 via Ropeadope Records), which is Spanish for Great Peacock. Their craft is instinctual, enlivened by their electric and nimble playing, gripping lyrical insight and Nelson’s eviscerating vocals. Their grooves run thick, like on standouts like “Rattlesnake” (a swampy, mid-tempo song that relates a poisonous relationship to a slithering serpent) and “Heartbreak Comin’ Down.” They also manage to cut right to the bone, particularly when they deal in restraint. “Take a little time to make things right / Make a little love in the middle of the night,” Nelson ruminates on the languid and smokey “Oh Deep Water.”

The tension and sweltering unease comes in waves across 10 tracks, often brittle and heartbreaking, other times ferocious and sharp. “A peacock has so many colors, and that’s what we want our sound to be like. It’s clearly rock ‘n roll. It’s clearly country. It’s clearly folk. There’s definitely blues and elements of R&B in there, too,” says Nelson.

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