by Selina Yang (@y_aniles)
“Bird Patterns” is the first single from Drug Country, a new project from the mind of gnawing’s John Russell, based in Richmond, Virginia. The effort started off as a side project to refresh from a prolific year with gnawing, the country rock ensemble that Russell fronts. However, Russell is brimming with new identities, as he says in a 2020 Get Alternative interview that “I’m not as defined by bands that I’ve been in or how people knew me in Charlotte or North Carolina in general…[in Richmond] I can carve out my own sound and scene.” With vocals from Russell Edling (Golden Apples), Drug Country melts down gnawing’s power-pop DNA. Rather than an extension of that band, Drug Country explores new territory of indie folk tinged with garage rock, while sharing Russell’s trademark static-laced jangles. How To Keep A Band, the project’s debut EP releases on May 24th via Hilltop Recordings.
“Bird Patterns”’s wry cynicism is a nod to the name of the project itself, Drug Country. A self described “odyssey of turpentine,” the smell of gasoline and pine lends for an addictive palette. “Bird Patterns” is a song for the road, kicking pebbles along tarnished pavement. There’s coming-of-age brazenness in the naively optimistic melody. Underlying it is a desperation to not slip through the cracks. Edling sings with a lilt that has no need to deliver a full belt to achieve its sense of (sl)eaze, channeling a tradition of slacker rock. “Can’t say I want you to lose,” then with an egocentric wink he adds, “But – I’ve learned a lot about myself.”
The bright synth introduction, sounding like hollow wind chimes, is almost a fake-out of hope amongst warm, reverb-heavy guitars. “Bird Patterns” nestles itself into a tangy folk sleepy town, painting a portrait of the self-righteous, desperate grit required to track dots in the sky and learn patterns of migration, perhaps finding escapism in wishing one could be part of these birds. In swaths of lo-fi hazy guitars, “Bird Patterns” hosts the nostalgia of a long-lost home video, and is a VIP ticket into Drug Country.