The Americans continue their streak of hard-hitting releases, with newcomer, Strays, which saw the light of day late last month. At the very core The Americans are a folk-root-Americana outfit, but Strays proves they are much more than that. Creating music on their own terms, and unapologetically so, the result is an EP filled with songs that provoke thoughts and emotions with every spin.
Throughout the record, it’s fascinating to hear how the band uses a minimal toolkit to reflect a song’s essence in a big way. Often the track such as “Kingdom” evokes the surreal silence of an evening with twists and turns.
Without being especially folky, The Americans makes satisfyingly updated Roots-sounding music. Seldom have such philosophical, soul-searching songs been sung with so much humility as they are here. You can almost hear frontman Patrick Ferris looking modestly down at his shoes. What balances out all the soft-stepping gentleness, though, is the depth and weight of the material especially on tracks such as “When You Get Back”. There’s nothing florid or frivolous happening here and the set of songs is certainly the tightest and most focused of their career. If you can be still and hold it close for long enough, you’ll see Strays is also a thing of wonder, possibility and undiscovered magic.
Known for their live shows which honed over many hundreds of performances, is something to behold. Chris Griffy (AXS) calls them “straight up blue-collar rock and roll in the style of Bruce Springsteen and John Mellencamp.” Steve Wildsmith (Daily Times) admires their “antThe band’s distinctive, powerful works have captured the attention of a number of stars. They’ve backed Nick Cave, Lucinda Williams, Ashley Monroe, and Devendra Banhart, and joined Ryan Bingham on four national tours. They worked closely with Jack White and T Bone Burnett, joining Nas, Elton John, and Alabama Shakes in the PBS/BBC primetime series American Epic. They have appeared on The Late Show (CBS), and their music was featured in the films Texas Killing Fields, A Country Called Home, Little Glory, and the TV series No Tomorrow.
Strays is an ambitious project. The chameleon-like ability within the release as a whole is on full display with plenty of fine tunes to choose from, whatever your taste.
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