The Americans are an acclaimed Indie-Folk-Americana band who hail from Los Angeles. On July 21the group is set to release their new EP, Strays, with their new lyric video for  “When You Get Back,” out today 6/30.
The band’s distinctive, powerful works have captured the attention of a number of stars. They’ve backed Nick Cave, Lucinda Williams, Ashley Monroe, and Devendra Banhart, and twice joined Ryan Bingham on national tours. They worked closely with Jack White and T Bone Burnett, joining Nas, Elton John, and Alabama Shakes in thePBS primetime series American Epic. Additionally, they appeared on The Late Show (CBS), and their music was featured in the films Texas Killing Fields, A Country Called Home, Little Glory, and the TV series, No Tomorrow.

Watch  The Americans’ Lyric Video for “When You Get Back”

Connect with The Americans:

WEBSITE | YOUTUBE | INSTAGRAM | FACEBOOK | SPOTIFY

The upcoming EP Strays is an impressive demonstration of the band’s ability to reinvent rock & roll through the prism of early folk and blues. Patrick Ferris (vocals/guitar), Zac Sokolow (guitar), and Jake Faulkner (bass) deliver an album that lands somewhere between Bruce Springsteen and Nathaniel Rateliff.

The Americans’ last two releases, Stand True (2022) and I’ll Be Yours (2017), helped catapult the band into the spotlight. Revered producer T Bone Burnett called them “genius twenty-first century musicians that are reinventing American heritage music for this century. And it sounds even better this century.” Acclaimed music journalist Greil Marcus (Pitchfork) writes, “From the first rolling guitar notes, carrying sadness and defiance like dust, this sweeps me up: I want to know everything about where that feeling came from, and where it’s going.”

The first single, “When You Get Back,” is a heartbreak song about devotion and solitude in the face of unlikely odds. Vocalist Patrick Ferris weaves between a soulful whisper and all-out rocking choruses. He sings mournfully, “You left the life of virtue / To them that might deserve you / And drifted out to sea.” It’s an intimate, emotional opener that sets the tone for the rest of the EP.

“We write our songs inside-out,” says Patrick. “We grab hold of something minuscule and primitive—a simple turn of phrase or an unusual beat—and try to build a song around it. It’s inefficient, but when it works, it works.”

Strays is an EP that’s full of catchy hooks, soulful vocals, and innovative arrangements. The Americans have once again proved themselves to be one of the most exciting and talented bands in the roots music scene.

Singer-Songwriter Mark Tegio has just released his new full length, Marie, out via all streaming platforms today. 

Mark is a singer-songwriter, guitar player, and storyteller based in Portland, Oregon. Tegio has been playing music since childhood when his Dad bought him his first guitar in a small shop in Southern California. 

Listen in here to the new LP, Marie:

Thematically, the songwriter’s focus is razor sharp, with his intuitive lyricism intertwining with the overarching themes of the track. The prominent vocals that are laced throughout bring a sense of vibrancy and life into the song which sets the tone for the upcoming release.

Though he played guitar and fronted some bands in high school, his music took a backseat for the meantime while working towards his college degree. After graduating from UC Berkeley in 2017, with a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering, he threw himself into “the drudgery of the 9-5 work week.” Feeling unfulfilled and uninspired, he left that world, solely devoting himself to his music. Living a transient life in a van, playing music had wholly pervaded his being. His first tour with “Smith and Tegio” (a duo formed with his longtime friend Austin Smith) cemented his reverence for the road. Since then, Tegio has been able to scrape together a living as a solo musician, touring musician, and guitarist in multiple country bands in Portland. 

Tegio’s songs include tales of wanderers and outcasts, dreamers and revelers, lovers and losers; all of whom he has been at one time or another. Originally from San Diego himself, Tegio found fellow native Tom Waits to be an early influence. Waits’ fantastical songs of seedy, sordid characters, accompanied by his raspy, guttural voice, inspired Tegio’s writing and singing. When Tegio was introduced to Texas songwriters such as Townes Van Zandt and Blaze Foley, he was quick to adapt some of his favorite aspects of their writing into his own developing style. Townes’ dark, poetic imagery, especially of natural beauty, paired with his lonesome yet hopeful songs, combined with the levity Foley frequently used in songs and Waits’ depictive storytelling, unite to create the holy union of barroom poetry that is Mark Tegio’s sound.

Marcus Lowry is a Canadian singer-songwriter, guitarist and producer based in Montreal. His debut solo album Time, Time, Time is set to be released this coming fall. It is produced by the beloved Canadian musician and producer Joe Grass, recipient of two Félix awards and multiple Juno nominations. 

From the upcoming LP, the gentle “Hold You Tight” is a tender remedy for loneliness. The song’s simple, cyclical melody catches your ear and then lulls you into a peaceful dreamstate that is sure to comfort you to the very last note.

Marcus sings atop a busy overpass, late at night in his hometown of Montreal. His delicate vocal performance pierces through the sounds of the traffic and city life, and draws us into a peaceful musical refuge. 

“We had just wrapped filming a music video on a cool, rainy night and when the rain stopped, we decided to go for a walk to scout a new location,” says Marcus. “I was walking with my guitar in hand, singing the song, and when we ended up on a nearby overpass I knew right away that the restless, obtrusive sounds of the city at night would be a perfectly poetic backdrop for this soft and intimate song.”

Being bipoc and white, Toronto’s Matt Fasullo always struggled with his artistic identity. When he discovered his love for music, it became a diary of sorts, giving him an outlet to vent and discover who he truly was.  From the infancy of experimenting with music in his parent’s basement to 7 years of him maturing his sound, Matt splices together the warmth and rawness of folk music with the underbelly of alternative electronic.

“OHSOPROUD” their latest work is a detailed and sonically divergent production with sampled old home videos and the general static and pop they give off. Inspired by a year long dance with psychedelic drugs that left Matt further away from what he hoped they would give him. “They broke me down, shattered my ego, and I learned that there were some harsh consequences to treating your mind like a toy. I faced some harsh realities that I still live with to this day. This song is about a time I lost my mind, only to find it in a million pieces and slowly putting it back together over the years.”

At the end of the writing and recording process Matt had this profound statement we could all find comfort in “I need to embrace my life as it currently is. Instead of pandering to some idea of who I think I should be.”

Windsor, ON indie-folk artist Brendan Scott Friel is a spell-binding singer-songwriter.  Re-inspired to be a musician after a befalling loss in his personal life.  While hurt and confused and low on cash he traveled to Holland to be a busker, and has brought those experiences into his new flame of singer/songwriting for the better half of the last decade.

As part of a collection of songs on his upcoming record that were inspired by the passing of his father, “Simon the Doubter” is a thought provoking and dizzying exploration into thoughts upon tragedy and life’s unanswered and most important questions, leading to a cynical space.

“No weighing souls against a feather / No angry Gods, just bad weather”

Golden Feather is a project that was started by Steve Kiely and Brad Germain, inspired by their love of bands that like to jam and take their listeners on a musical journey. So far, Golden Feather has released the 2022 EP Now & Then (Sonic Unyon Records) and follow that with a full-length live album, Welcome\\Release.

“Just For Now” is a song about fearing that the present misfortune will last, but dearly hoping that it won’t – that it’s just for now. The song features an epic saxophone solo by Murray Heaton, who was a part-time musician for the band before joining as a full-time member recently. The half-time sax solo changes gears completely from the rest of the song, and following that, there’s something about the three chords which oscillate up and down for the rest of the song are subconsciously dissatisfying.

“We’ve always felt that we needed to release a live album to really showcase how we see and play these songs in a live setting,” says Kiely. “Recording a studio album is a great way to capture a glimpse of a moment in time, but we believe that in a live setting, songs should have the ability to grow and change, just as a band does.”