by Patrick Pilch (@pratprilch)
Up-and-coming slowcore outfit A Country Western have a new record on the way via Pittsburgh’s Crafted Sounds (Gaadge, feeble little horse, BRNDA). Life on the Lawn is out March 29th and follows up 2021’s birdfeeder LP and 2022’s An Insult to the Sport split with They Are Gutting a Body of Water. This will be the first A Country Western full-length to get pressed upon release and, after listening, I can confidently say you may want to get your paws (or at least ears) on that wax.
There’s a significant mood shift on Life on the Lawn; A Country Western sound clean. As the shoegaze bubble continues to expand and mutate, the band embrace a more textbook indie rock style and “The Dreamer” is Life on the Lawn’s leading example. The first single is as rollicking as A Country Western have ever been, with uptempo chugs in classic rock n’ roll fashion. According to the band, “The Dreamer” was written during Derek Hengemihle’s “first ever Wilco phase” which coincided with a week-long stay in Ocean City, MD. With a rocking rhythmic underbelly and unswerving barre chord riffs, Wilco on the beach totally checks out.
Life on the Lawn is out via Crafted Sounds on 3/29. Listen to “The Dreamer” below and check out A Country Western on tour this spring.