Bones Owens Bones Owens SKU: BRR001LP Barcode: 644216970193 15.00 £15.00 Genre: Americana / Country Label: Black Ranch Records Released Date: 26th February 2021 Buying Format: 1LP Out of stock Back Order Add to your Wishlist Description Product Info The self-titled, full-length debut from Bones Owens is a selection of songs both gloriously gritty and undeniably euphoric. In a bold departure from the moody Americana of his acclaimed EPs Hurt No One and Make Me No King, the Missouri-bred musician’s first release with Thirty Tigers delivers a powerful sound deeply inspired by ’60s garage-rock, Hill Country blues, and the swampy roots-rock of bands like Creedence Clearwater Revival (“the first record I remember stealing from my dad when I was ten and just starting to play guitar,” according to Owens). A potent showcase for his formidable guitar work—a talent he’s displayed in performing with artists as eclectic as Yelawolf and Mikky Ekko—Bones Owens arrives as a full-tilt expression of Owens’ wildest impulses, all swinging rhythms, and swaggering riffs. Featuring heavily playlisted hits like “White Lines” and “Keep It Close,” Bones Owens came to life at The Smoakstack in Owens’ adopted hometown of Nashville. With production from studio owner Paul Moak—a five-time Grammy Award nominee who’s also worked with Joy Williams, Marc Broussard, and The Blind Boys of Alabama—the album finds Owens joining forces with drummer Julian Dorio (Eagles of Death Metal, The Whigs) and bassist Jonathan Draper (All Them Witches), recording live to tape and infusing each track with a frenetic vitality. “This album really came from opening for some good people over the last few years, from feeding off that energy from the crowd and wanting to write more songs that would feel exciting to play live,” says Owens, who’s recently toured with Reignwolf and Whiskey Myers. “It felt like the right approach to keep the production simple and record everything to tape – I think it creates a good type of nervousness that brings out the best in everyone. Nobody wants to be the one to mess up the take. Besides, all my favorite records were made that way. You can’t fake that sound.” From the opening track, Owens’ instincts prove to be right on target. Built on shuffling drumbeats and snarling guitar tones, “Lightning Strike” matches its sultry groove with plenty of devil-may-care attitude (an element that extends to the track’s video, wherein a Stetson-clad Owens kicks back in a boozy motel-room bubble bath). While Owens wrote most of the album on his own, “Lighting Strike” emerged from a session with co-writer Kevin Griffin (Moon Taxi, The Struts, Blondie), whose three-string cigar box guitar sparked a sudden burst of inspiration. “I remember gravitating toward that guitar – it didn’t really sound good, and there wasn’t much you could do with it, but it brought out this rhythmic thing that just sort of dictated the direction of the song,” Owens recalls. Throughout the album, Owens reveals his gift for drawing tremendous impact from taut songwriting. On “Keep It Close,” he shares a slow-burning epic whose chorus offers something of a mantra for living with conviction in a soul-crushing world (i.e., “You gotta keep it close to your heart/Or you’re gonna go blind”). One of the most mercurial moments on Bones Owens, “Wave” unfolds in dramatically shifting tempos, with Owens’ brooding vocals channeling the pain of being betrayed by a former confidant. On “Good Day,” that pain transforms into fiery self-assurance, the track’s exultant mood magnified by the sublime background vocals of Regina McCrary (a legendary gospel singer known for her work with Bob Dylan and Buddy Guy). And on “Blind Eyes,” Owens presents the album’s most languid number, a darkly charged meditation on emotional limits. “That one’s somewhat nostalgic, talking about some of the more decadent periods in my life,” he notes. “It’s the story of the death of a relationship and destructive way of life.” Raised in rural Missouri, Owens took up guitar as a kid and soon began writing songs centered on his decidedly poetic lyrics. Although he studied creative writing in college, he eventually dropped out and moved to Nashville upon landing a publishing deal at the age of 21. Over the coming years, Owens made his name as an in-demand session and touring guitarist, then broke through as an artist with Hurt No One (a 2014 release featuring appearances by musicians like Butch Walker and Relient K’s Matt Thiessen). Arriving in 2017, Make Me No King earned him further accolades, leading to his signing with Thirty Tigers in 2019. Like most of the music Owens creates, Bones Owens was largely written in what he refers to as “a jail-cell-sized room at my house out in the country, overlooking my neighbor’s pasture and horses.” Having left the city to return to something resembling his roots, he purposely filled his writing room with the countless treasures and tchotchkes he’s gathered over the years. “My mom owned an antique store when I was a kid—we actually lived above it—and so I’ve always had this love for old things,” says Owens, who worked as an antique dealer for several years. With his stash including everything from the sentimental to the nonsensical—a collection of Native American arrowheads unearthed by his grandfather while working in Missouri’s fruit orchards, taxidermied coyote heads adorned with vintage motorcycle helmets—Owens considers that space essential to his creative process. “For me inspiration is environmental,” he says. “Most of the time my songs come from me just sitting down with a guitar, surrounded by all of my favorite stuff.” With Bones Owens written in the pre-pandemic days, Owens hopes that the album’s unbridled spirit might provide some much-needed uplift to his audience. “When I made this record, I obviously had no idea that the world was going to be so completely changed by the time it came out,” he says. “This record for me was about a transformative time in my life. It was about loss and pain, but also about love and finding a way out of a dark time. I feel like these are all emotions and sentiments I find myself connected to just as much now as when they were written.” Artist Bones Owens Genre Americana / Country Label Black Ranch Records Buying Options 1LP Format 1LP Condition New Country UK Track Listings Lightning Strike Good Day White Lines When I Think About love Wave Blind Eyes Keep It Close Ain't Nobody Come My Way Country Man Tell Me Keep On Running Share this On Facebook On Twitter Via Email More from Americana / Country View Product Quick View Darrin Bradbury Artvertisement Americana / Country | Anti | 1LP Released 20th August 2021 £22.00 Back Order View Pre/Back Orders Darrin Bradbury Artvertisement £22.00 Genre: Americana / Country Label: Anti SKU: 277781 Formats: 1LP Released Date: 20th August 2021 Read More Back Order View Pre/Back Orders Matt's picks View Product Quick View Hanging Stars, The Hollow Heart Americana / Country | Loose Music | 1LP, Coloured Vinyl Released 25th March 2022 £19.00 - £20.00 Select options Hanging Stars, The Hollow Heart £19.00 - £20.00 Genre: Americana / Country Label: Loose Music Formats: 1LP, Coloured Vinyl Released Date: 25th March 2022 Read More Select options View Product Quick View Steve Earle & The Dukes Ghosts of West Virginia Americana / Country | New West | 1LP Released 22nd May 2020 £19.00 Back Order View Pre/Back Orders Steve Earle & The Dukes Ghosts of West Virginia £19.00 Genre: Americana / Country Label: New West Released Date: 22nd May 2020 Read More Back Order View Pre/Back Orders View Product Quick View Arlo McKinley Die Midwestern Americana / Country | Oh Boy Records | 1LP Released 14th August 2020 £15.00 Back Order View Pre/Back Orders Arlo McKinley Die Midwestern £15.00 Genre: Americana / Country Label: Oh Boy Records SKU: OBR055 Formats: 1LP Released Date: 14th August 2020 Read More Back Order View Pre/Back Orders View Product Quick View Lucinda Williams Lu’s Jukebox Vol. 4: Funny How Time Slips Away: A Night of 60’s Country Classics Americana / Country | Highway 20 Records | 1LP Released 15th October 2021 £20.00 Back Order View Pre/Back Orders Lucinda Williams Lu’s Jukebox Vol. 4: Funny How Time Slips Away: A Night of 60’s Country Classics £20.00 Genre: Americana / Country Label: Highway 20 Records SKU: H200101 Formats: 1LP Released Date: 15th October 2021 Read More Back Order View Pre/Back Orders View Product Quick View Drive-By Truckers The Complete Dirty South Americana / Country | New West | 2LP, Gatefold Sleeve Released 16th June 2023 £44.00 Back Order View Pre/Back Orders Drive-By Truckers The Complete Dirty South £44.00 Genre: Americana / Country Label: New West SKU: LPNW5724C Formats: 2LP, Gatefold Sleeve Released Date: 16th June 2023 Read More Back Order View Pre/Back Orders View Product Quick View Gram Parsons Grevious Angel Americana / Country | Rhino | 180g, 1LP Released 23rd June 2014 £25.00 Back Order View Pre/Back Orders Gram Parsons Grevious Angel £25.00 Genre: Americana / Country Label: Rhino SKU: 008122795955 Formats: 180g, 1LP Released Date: 23rd June 2014 Read More Back Order View Pre/Back Orders Nearly New View Product Quick View Jimmy Buffett Volcano Americana / Country | MCA | 1LP, Gatefold Sleeve Released 28th April 2022 £8.00 Add to basket Reserve View Reservations Jimmy Buffett Volcano £8.00 Genre: Americana / Country Label: MCA SKU: nn241411 Formats: 1LP, Gatefold Sleeve Released Date: 28th April 2022 Reserve View Reservations Read More Add to basket View Product Quick View Tony Joe White Shine Americana / Country | Swamp Records | 1LP, Gatefold Sleeve Released 1st August 2014 £17.00 Back Order View Pre/Back Orders Tony Joe White Shine £17.00 Genre: Americana / Country Label: Swamp Records SKU: SWMP7927891MP Formats: 1LP, Gatefold Sleeve Released Date: 1st August 2014 Read More Back Order View Pre/Back Orders View Product Quick View Dan Mangan Nice Nice Very Nice Americana / Country | Arts & Crafts | 1LP Released 19th September 2011 £15.00 Back Order View Pre/Back Orders Dan Mangan Nice Nice Very Nice £15.00 Genre: Americana / Country Label: Arts & Crafts SKU: AC055LP Formats: 1LP Released Date: 19th September 2011 Read More Back Order View Pre/Back Orders See more in Americana / Country Start again
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