Garrett Hendricks ain’t your typical country boy crooning about trucks and tailgates. This Pacific Northwest native is giving the stale genre a much-needed kick in the ass with his gritty, no-bullshit sound that seamlessly blends the angst of 90s grunge with the nostalgia of vintage country and rock from the 60s and 70s. His forthcoming singles “Fry an Egg” and “Adrift in the American Dream” are bold statements that he’s not here to conform to Nashville’s boring archetypes and assembly-line songwriting.
Let’s start with the raucous “Fry an Egg”(05/31/24) – a rowdy, honky-tonk stomper slinging a tongue-in-cheek jab at the endless struggles of trying to make it as a musician. Co-written with his whiskey-sipping buddy Bristol Coon on a road trip that found them throwing back bourbon along the legendary Bourbon Trail, it’s a quintessential Garrett Hendricks moment. Combining his cheeky John Prine-esque lyricism with a swampy, rock-edged groove, he spins the humorous tale of a starving artist always grinding on the road but never catching a break. But behind that singalong chorus is a rallying cry of solidarity for anyone who’s felt the psychological and financial strain of chasing their dreams against all odds.
Cut at the esteemed Farmland Studios in Nashville with an all-star lineup of session players, “Fry an Egg” gets an explosive injection of muscular instrumentation to match its lyrical bite. From the gritty guitar licks to the subtle Stax flair added with a B3 Hammond organ, it’s a wild rollercoaster ride of controlled chaos, captured with an organic looseness that’s the antithesis of calculated Music Row polish.
Then we get to the haunting and cinematic “Adrift in the American Dream” (7/12/2024). Inspired by the harsh reality that the so-called “American Dream” has become increasingly fragile and unattainable for many, Hendricks pens a somber yet anthemic cautionary tale. He vividly spins the narrative of a young working-class couple harboring big hearts full of hope and ambition for the future. But their dreams get violently derailed by the ugly realities plaguing this country – rampant gun violence, a broken healthcare system, and the systemic barriers holding back social mobility. It’s bleak, soul-crushing subject matter for sure, but leave it to the defiant Hendricks to juxtapose those brutal lyrics with a triumphant, vintage Americana sound channeling prime Bruce Springsteen.
Blending the bluegrass-tinged grit of contemporary stars like Tyler Childers with the life-affirming bombast of Born in the USA-era Springsteen, “Adrift in the American Dream” is a wildly ambitious sonic concoction – as bold and uncompromising as the progressive message behind Hendricks’ words. With its prominent acoustic textures woven with atmospheric keys (and synth!) and those trademark Springsteenian bombastic drums, it truly pushes the boundaries of what country rock can be.
At his core, the western Washington state-born Hendricks is the pure antithesis of the cookie-cutter mainstream country act. This ain’t some sleek radio-baiting pretty boy manufactured by labels to churn out sanitized hits. No, he’s a true son of the Northwest, his uncompromising authenticity and blue-collar ethos shining through every gravelly inflection and raw guitar lick. With his defiant middle finger raised against conformity, Garrett Hendricks is injecting some much-needed idiosyncrasy and progressive ideals into the country landscape. These two songs alone tackle heady topics like economic inequality, gun reform, and a broken healthcare system – subject matter you’ll never hear from the genre’s commercial juggernauts.
So consider this a wake-up call to the establishment that change is coming to their bland homogeneity, and it’s wearing a flannel shirt. As Hendricks himself would likely tell them with that iconic Pacific Northwestern bluntness – get with the times or get the hell out of the way. Country music’s veins are getting a very necessary transfusion of new lifeblood – raw, unvarnished, and pulled straight from the fabric of modern American life. It may be gritty and confrontational, but that’s what makes it so vitally important.
Past Press
“Unique Northwest-Americana style.” – DO615
“A sardonic but upbeat country-rocker, it both chastises the banality of the current political sphere and empathizes with the feeling of limbo all Americans are experiencing as they face social, racial, and political upheaval and wonder when and if life will return to some semblance of stability.” – ChalkPit Records