New music: Longstay

   

When listening to music, the most important trait for me is authenticity.  I gravitate towards bands that make heartfelt, organic music - regardless of the genre.  And I dig bands that I can relate to, for whatever reason.  I can relate to Longstay.  In fact, their bio reads pretty much like mine:

There is no glamorous behind the scenes story here. They were not raised by wolves, they don't have famous friends on TV, they have never done drugs with hookers or even stayed up past midnight.  LONGSTAY is just a nomadic quintet embedding a soulful passion, best personified by acknowledging their debt to Bob Dylan for selling out.

It's not hard to imagine that Longstay's debut Homes & Houses was written and recorded during long nights with whiskey bottles scattered around the room and Otis Redding and The Band on the turntable.  Keyboards and guitar licks intertwine beneath Nik Ewing's vocals that touch on common themes of home, togetherness and friendship.  Blues guitars and horn-section rave-ups give songs like Together! an Exile On Main Street swagger.  On smoldering album-closer Retired Gospels, an R&B backbeat and Soul-drenched vocals build to a crescendo as guitars and harmonicas wail, before giving way to an a-capella group singalong as bottles clink in the background - the perfect way to close out the album.

There's a ton of excellent, soulful Americana coming out of southern California lately, and Longstay certainly deserves some attention alongside Delta Spirit, Dawes, Cory Chisel & The Wandering Sons, The Romany Rye, Blake Mills et al.  Houses & Homes is out now - preview the fantastic track I Swore That Off Before below, then get the album here.  You can also find a few more track downloads by clicking around the band's maze site (kind of like a 'create your own adventure' book).

Longstay - I Swore That Off Before

Fantastic Houses & Homes promo video:

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