Music These Days – Big Wide States
Music These Days is a five piece band from Tucson Arizona with expansive, big sky arrangements and lyrical storytelling with memorable, quotable lines. This album will take you to the wide open natural spaces of Americana mystique – redwoods, mining towns, skies, mountains – with some archetypes of American characters and experiences.
“Redwood Home” a touch of pedal steel to the easy tempo and you’re taking a walk among the mighty redwoods: “Walking on the forest floor so green / You can smell the rain stuck in the trees… brings me to my knees….” and you’re going back to the same spot every time, the only place it feels safe to cry.
“City of Granite” (which may be about Granite City, IL) is a song of impoverished mining towns all across the country: “Tucked away in the mountain is a hard-livin’ town. If the mining don’t kill you, may the fortune bring you down,” and a miner who had a reputation for hard drinking and ended up where he ended up. “Gold Plated Tears” settles down into a western style slow dance, as he sees the clothes and the curls in her hair that are forever gone from him now with added piano parts by Phil Madeira.
“Avenue Lady” is a story of pain and carrying the weight of the world, in a story of unrequited love: “I just want you to see me tonight.” On this the harmonies with Emily Rockey are delightful. If you can only listen to one song on the album, start with this one – it’ll change your mind. “One Eye Cry” is an up tempo rocker, and the vocals here somehow resemble 1970’s Neil Young. “Happily” is easy acoustic guitar and a touch of lonesome harmonica – “we’ll live in this world happily.”
The vocals are fluid, easy, and heartfelt. The pedal steel, easy rhythms and guitar subtly carry the themes, punctuated by support from harmonica, piano, fiddle and cello.
Musicians on the album are Christopher Byrne on bass guitars; Floyd Kellogg on drums, percussion, pump organ, guitar, and Farfisa; Jameson Clay Koweek on pedal steel guitar and lead guitar; Michael Newman on Wurlitzer and drums; Emily Rockey on backing vocals; and Benjamin Wilkinson on vocals, guitar, harmonica, and percussion. Guest musicians are Alex Birdsall on backing vocals; Caitlin Glennon on backing vocals; Bruce Hoffman on fiddle; Phil Madeira on piano; and Claudia Vanderschraaf on cello.
Find more information and tour dates on their website here: https://www.musicthesedays.com/
The album was produced by Floyd Kellogg and Benjamin Wilkinson; co-produced by Lauri Mills, Christopher Byrne, Jameson Clay Koweek, Michael Newman, and Emily Rockey. It was mixed by Floyd Kellogg, mastering by Mark Donahue at Soundmirror, with front cover by Ramon Shiloh.
It was recorded at 300 Polpis Road in Nantucket, Massachusetts and at The Desert Studio in Tucson Arizona, with additional recording at Henri & Norm’s and at Six Bar Studio, both in Tucson, Arizona.
