Posts Tagged ‘Die Midwestern’

ARLO McKINLEY – ” Die Midwestern “

Posted: December 25, 2020 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
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Arlo McKinley has washed his songs in the blood of street soul, country, punk and gospel – and tattooed them onto the underground.
Filled with an honest weight and gritty-hope from rustbelt city life, McKinley rolled downriver to Memphis’ Sun Studio where Grammy Award-winning producer Matt Ross-Spang gathered a working man’s all-star band to record his Oh Boy Records debut,

Look, an album about Midwestern ennui delivered by a guy in his 30s was almost focus-grouped to appeal to me, a Midwesterner with ennui in his 30s, but Arlo McKinley’s Oh Boy Records debut belongs on this list for the greatness of its song writing, and the way that it captures the various stages of Midwestern Grief in all its forms. John Prine left us this year, but at least his label has artists who can fill the sizable gap in our lives. 

Had Jody Prine not played his late father singer songwriter John Prine a couple of McKinley’s songs, there’s every chance 40-year-old Cincinnati singer songwriter Arlo McKinley would have given up on music entirely and still be delivering tuxedos. However, John was particularly taken with Bag Of Pills and, as a result, McKinley became the last artist Prine and his son signed to their label before the former’s death.

The solo debut (he previously released a 2014 live album as frontman with The Lonesome Sound) opens with the understated strum of We Were Alright, a number that starts out as an upbeat road song about driving with his girl and how “for the first time in a long time we were alright”, only to play the dream within a dream card as he wakes to realise they’ve broken up and tries to get back to the dream to be close to her again.

McKinley’s 10 original songs bleed truth from a heart scarred by wild nights and redeemed by Sunday morning confessions. “She’s Always Around,” “Suicidal Saturday Night,” “Bag of Pills” and “Ghost” are all carved out in the key of life.

Drums & Percussion: Ken Coomer Bass Guitar: Dave Smith
Keys: Rick Steff
Electric Guitar: Will Sexton Acoustic Guitars: Matt Ross-Spang Fiddle: Jessie Munson
BGVS: Reba Russell
Acoustic Guitar/Vocals: Arlo McKinley Released August 14th, 2020

ARLO McKINLEY – ” Die Midwestern “

Posted: September 14, 2020 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
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Ohio-born country singer Arlo McKinley released his debut album (as Arlo McKinley & the Lonesome Sound) back in 2014, and that album caught a few ears in the country scene, but it didn’t make the mark that Arlo had hoped and he almost gave up on music entirely. One of the album’s fans was Tyler Childers, who invited Arlo to open for him and sing on stage with him a few years later, and eventually that led to Arlo making a fan out of another famous person: the late, legendary John Prine, who signed Arlo to his Oh Boy Records label before passing away earlier this year. Arlo, now 40 years old, makes his Oh Boy debut with Die Midwestern, his first new music in six years and an album that’s already shaping up to be a potential breakthrough.

Die Western is more polished than Arlo’s lo-fi debut — he made it at Memphis’ legendary Sun Studio with producer Matt Ross-Spang (Prine, Jason Isbell, Margo Price, etc) and a backing band of Ken Coomer (Uncle Tupelo, Wilco), Rick Steff (Cat Power, Hank Williams Jr.), and Reba Russell (Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison) — so it sounds great, but it’s not overly polished. Arlo comes from a punk/DIY background, and that mindset informs these songs as much as classic folk and country does. He especially reminds me of fellow Matt Ross-Spang collaborator Jason Isbell, and if you like Isbell’s great new album, you may find that Die Midwestern pairs very well with it.

Like a lot of great country singers, Arlo fills his songs with real-life hardships — from heartbreak to addiction — and when he opens his mouth to sing about everything he’s been through in his 40 years on this planet, you feel it.

Arlo McKinley’s official video for “Die Midwestern” from his new album Die Midwestern.