Roots Music Mavericks WESTERN CENTURIES (Formerly Cahalen Morrison & Country Hammer) – New album tour.
Round up a country band and an early R&B group with three lead vocalists, weave in a hefty amount of vocal harmony and witty turns-of-phrase, and let ‘em rock out like The Band. The sound of roots music mavericks Western Centuries sits at these crossroads, and their debut album Weight of the World introduces a band as skillful in their musicianship as they are innovative in their writing. With upbeat, barroom dance numbers, lilting, introspective tunes of heartbreak, and everything in between, the album strikes an oft-strived-for but rarely achieved balance between genre-busting experimentation and thoughtful continuity.
Produced by Bill Reynolds (Band of Horses) and recorded in his Nashville studio, Weight of the World features three different songwriters and lead vocalists; the result is a sound that deftly defies neat categorization. The progressive, almost psychedelic nature of the album’s lyrics infuses the 12-track record with a distinctly modern sensibility. Sure, there’s ample pedal steel and plenty of country telecaster twang, but Western Centuries elevate these neo-traditional two-stepping tunes into transcendental, rootsy rock ‘n roll doused think-pieces.
While its lyrics are impressively layered with meaning, Weight of the World will appeal to just about any fan of roots music; the album certainly showcases the band’s great range and ability to blend influences ranging from early rhythm and blues, all the way to straight up country. But it’s also marked with a profound ingenuity – the type that feels instinctual rather than intentionally labored for, the kind that continues to flourish and snake into new realms as time wears on. This is just the beginning for Western Centuries, and it’s not likely their creative well is going to dry up any time soon.
Western Centuries will release Weight of the World via Free Dirt Records on June 3, 2016 (CD/LP/digital), and will tour the USA this summer and fall in support of their new release.
“I loved making this record. I want to strut it around like an old leather jacket. A record chock full of great songs – a classic.” —Bill Reynolds (Band of Horses), Producer
“This record and band hits the spot. The songs are cool, smart, deep and fun (the way I like my swimming pools). They’re rooted in classic country with a twist. These guys do it right.” —Jim Lauderdale
“Country music is alive and well. Great players, fine songwriting, and honest singers.” —Willie Watson
“Three very different voices, different rhythms, different takes on love, loss, drink, sadness, joy, pondering….all the stuff we howl at the moon about, shake our fists at, dance to, laugh with, think about… given musical life in the songs by Cahalen, Jim and Ethan on this new album by Western Centuries. You’ll dance, you’ll smile, you might even cry a little, but you won’t turn away.—Alice Gerrard
