It's been an interesting few months here at Nashville Calling HQ, with a plethora of new releases from artists both new and old to us. August kicks off with a little gem from another new name to us, the Staffordshire based Americana-Fusion artist Jason Callear.
"Brother" is an unusual song, in that it tells the story of words exchanged from one brother to another. "Hey Rick you dumbass, what's unusual about that" , I hear you say? Well, what's unusual is that the conversation takes place amid the drama that plays out on a battlefield in the American Civil War.
Anyway, unusual theme or not, what's the track like? Well its pretty darn good. Its certainly not the usual Verse/Chorus, rinse/repeat formulae that most radio songs have become of late. Its a song of lush instrumental parts, which includes a lot of resonator guitar which gives the track a real haunting quality right from the get-go.
Jason's vocals are gritty and with a wheelbarrow full of great tone, just perfect for the genre. The lead vocal is accompanied by some ear candy harmonies and backing vocals that give the song some great layers, on what is a fairly sparse track, instrumentally. This is firmly in the rootsy/folk envelope of Americana-Country. Think twangy guitar, backwoods and moonshine rather than Nashville's more commercial "Music Row".
Drums also play a bit part in the arrangement to but its the vocal and resonator that leave the listener with the biggest impression, that and the fact that the song is a track of two halves. What do I mean? Well you'll have to wait till Aug 15th to hear it, as that's the release day but lets just say, its not your typical Country-Americana track; its a little bit different and we like different.
Jason Callear's "Brother" is really worth checking out when its released, so remember the date, Aug 15th
You can follow Jason on his website for future updates
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