My Politic Signs of Life
Indie-Folk duo, My Politic return this Friday 5/23 with a brand new album, Signs Of Life.
My Politic is comprised of Kaston Guffey and Nick Pankey. The duo both grew up in the heart of the Ozarks, and have been performing as My Politic for over fifteen years now, give or take. Together, they’ve recorded and put out ten previous releases, with 2022’s Missouri Folklore: Songs and Stories From Home being the most recent. They return this Friday with Signs Of Life, a brand new collection of thirteen songs and stories exploring the realm where the deeply personal and the universal overlap.
I first encountered My Politic at the duo’s debut at the Woody Guthrie Folk Festival in July of 2023 and was immediately drawn, to not only their songs and storytelling, but also the musicianship and the harmonies that blend perfectly in that Nash/Crosby kind of way. It wasn’t just me, their names were on a lot of lips. Simply put, Guffey and Pankey impressed a lot of people that year. That’s quite a feat at a festival with the talent pool like WoodyFest has. Not surprisingly, they were back in Okemah in 2024, and I’m happy to add they’ll be playing WoodyFest again this year, I can’t wait.
This new album Signs Of Life came to be during a tumultuous time following that WoodyFest debut. Written during a two year stretch between Guffey leaving Nashville for Pittsburgh, while Pankey remained living in Music City, I can’t imagine it being the ideal scenario for the creative process. On the undertaking Guffey says, “This was the first time in our career that Nick (who is still living in Nashville) and I had so much distance between us during the writing process, so we sent a lot of demo recordings back and forth.” Guffey’s move to Pittsburgh was a blind one for the most part. Moving with his wife to a new place they’d only visited briefly, and only knew a handful of people. Gaffey now says it was the best gamble they could have made, indicating the neighborhood, the city and it’s people really shaped the album’s central “exploration and discovery” theme.
Still, there’s a another major theme that developed during the writing process and that was the concept and philosophy of “time”. Guffey elaborates: “I heard somewhere that ‘time’ is the most used word in the English language but it’s still very much a mystery to us. I thought that was a really interesting idea and as I was writing this album, I kept thinking about time. I wanted to explore it from many different perspectives.” Guffey continues, “There are instances when we feel “time” differently, and then there is the significance of the time we are in historically. There is the concept of time measured by the way it feels to get older. There are repeating cycles, endings and beginnings, and the inevitability of change. All of these ideas were heavy on my mind while writing this new batch of songs. I also spend a lot more time on foot or on my bike than I did in Nashville, which has had a positive effect on my creative process.”
With the themes in place, that’s when the lyrical magic starts. Guffey and Pankey’s songs paint a vivid portrait of a modern day America, with completely relatable characters mired in the same reoccurring bouts of self reflection and doubts that we all experience. They’re full of contradictions and confusion, teetering somewhere between hopelessness and hope, but there’s always just enough optimism to pull you through. Guffey is a clever and crafty songwriter to be sure, and his vocals are both expressive and nuanced. Combined with Pankey’s perfectly blended harmonies, as well as the duo’s deceptively complex guitar styles, and what we have is truly a gem of an album. Complimenting the duo’s already potent sound, fans of Missouri Folklore will enjoy hearing the return of John Mailander’s (Bruce Hornsby, Billy Strings) ornamental fiddle and mandolin, as well as Steve Peavy’s (Dwight Yoakam) weaving dobro and pedal steel, and engineer Josh Washam’s refined bass, drums and keys. Signs Of Life was recorded in November of 2024, and is easily My Politic’s most sonically rich album to date.
When you have a folk duo with a name such as My Politic, you’re likely to have an idea already in mind of what you’re getting in an album, at least from a substantive manner, and you’d probably be mostly on track. Still, in a modern America that finds us more fractured and frayed than ever before, Signs Of Life refreshingly digs deeper into the societal issues over the political identity issues that so many can’t seem to not get hung up on.
On the album’s opening song and the first single, “Two In The Morning,” the duo tackles worry and hopelessness, “the world’s got me pacing and anxious again / doubts built a permanent place in my head / I don’t feel time the way I used to feel it/ it used to be on my side now it just wants me dead.” Their next single from the album, the haunting “No Other Way.” resounds with the themes of time and contradictions, while the third single, “Drifting Around The Ocean” as well as the stunning (and personal favorite) “I Took All The Pictures Down” are looks at the monumental shifts one’s life takes and the lasting effects on identity.
“The Lonely 21st Century” addresses toxic online culture, isolation and the seemingly unrestrained commercialism we all face day to day, while “From The Early Days” focuses on climate change. But, it’s not all doom and gloom either, and that’s where the exploration and discovery portion of the album’s themes emerge. “A Funny Place To Find Yourself,” “Still Growing Today,” “Livin’ Lean” and “Who Could Ask For Anything More” all celebrate connections, whether that’s friendship and camaraderie, gratitude or some kind of self realization.
Signs Of Life is a rich and warm slice of Americana. It’s an album with a big heart that deserves to be heard and pondered with many subsequent listens. I’ve had it in a pretty steady rotation and it’s easily one of my favorite albums of 2025 so far. Essentially, it’s a gem of an album, one that current fans of My Politic will most certainly love, while also being a perfect introduction for those new to the duo.
Signs Of Life releases this Friday May 23rd. The duo will first hit the road with fellow WoodyFest alumni, Jaimee Harris for a their quick “Folk’n Summer Tour” starting on May 28th in Springfield, MO, before heading out on a larger Signs Of Life tour. For more information on Kaston Guffey, Nick Pankey and My Politic, and to grab your copy of Signs Of Life please visit here:
https://www.mypoliticmusic.com
Check out our previous coverage here: Show Review: WoodyFest 2024 – Part 3
