Other Love Songs, the next album from Front Country, isn’t due until April 7, but the band has agreed to let us share the record’s second track as a pre-release premiere here at Bluegrass Today.
Lonesome Town was written and sung by the group’s guitarist, Melody Walker, who says that she was inspired by the scramble she’s seen as small towns try to keep business alive downtown.
“As a West Coast band, we have spent a lot of time in the vast western expanses between California and Colorado. Where actual towns are 300 miles apart, and you might not find so much as a gas station in between. I also grew up in a suburban city with a languishing historic downtown, where shopping moved to big box stores on the outskirts and local small businesses struggle to stay open. This song is a blend of those two experiences, using the desert ghost town as a metaphor for the tribulations of any small town struggling to keep Main Street alive.”
Here’s the track, a blend of their bluegrass roots with the current coastal California Americana sound.
In addition to Melody on guitar, Front Country consists of Adam Roskiewicz on mandolin and banjo, Jacob Groopman on guitar and reso-guitar, Jeremy Darrow on bass, and Leif Karlstrom on fiddle. Both Adam and Jacob assist with vocals, but it’s Walker’s powerhouse voice that drives the band. Fans of modern acoustic music will find much to enjoy in their more experimental approach within the traditional bluegrass quintet.
Pre-orders for Other Love Songs are available now from popular digital download sites, which include an instant download of one track.
