Anthony Farrell from Greyhounds Gives Track-by-Track of New Album, ‘Primates’

Austin band Greyhounds (the duo of Andrew Trube and Anthony Farrell) are set to release their new album Primates at the end of this week — July 10th on Nine Mile Records. The release marks the 20th year of their brotherhood.

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The 10-track release is the most complete offering from the band with relatable, sometimes deeper than expected, lyrics put in front of a backdrop that flows naturally from start to finish.

The addition of a new producer could have been at the heart of the new tunes, at least according to vocalist/keyboarist Anthony Farrell.

“We’ve always produced our own records,” he said. “But we knew we needed to stretch our sound on this record to reflect the scope of what we are trying to say. We brought in producer/multi- instrumentalist Steve Berlin (Los Lobos, Flesh Eaters, Deer Tick). We’ve known Steve for a long time, but it can be difficult to let go of your control in creative endeavors. However, our immense respect for him as a musician, as well as a human-being, made it easy to trust him. He opened up a lot of musical doors that we didn’t know existed. Plus he gave us a thorough education in Mezcal!”

Mezcal influenced or not, the album is a jam. If you dig what you hear, consider a pre-order.

TUNE IN
This song was contributed by our good friend Tim Crane, also known as “Jank Sinatra”. The lyrics are an examination of the effects of social media on our ability to make meaningful connections with one another, and the struggle to deal with the onslaught of information that one is subjected to on a daily basis. Something I think we can all relate to.

STAY HERE TONIGHT
A song written by another friend of ours, and frequent collaborator, Dante Schwebel. A song mining the theme of temptation, and second chances in relationships. A really fun and challenging song to play live. We also work with Dante in a band called NUEVO!, that has a newly recorded album set to release in the near future, so keep your eyes peeled for that.

PEOPLE IN THE PARK  
This song is  the subject of homelessness. When we moved to Austin from Los Angeles in 2005, we were amazed at how cheap housing was. As the city has quickly grown, we have witnessed soaring rents and home prices and in turn, a growing homeless population who have taken up residence under the freeways and in the parks. This increased visibility has thrust the affordable housing issue into the forefront here, as well as many other places across the country. Its not pleasant to think about, but we believe its important to empathize and understand how thin that line can be between having a roof over your head and living in the street. Steve Berlin was a major contributor on the lyrics to this one.

NOBODYS JUDGING
One of the main principles of our approach to making music is to avoid being too cerebral. More emphasis on trusting your gut. Thats the underlying message in this song. We believe that overthinking things can get in the way of realizing ones true intentions. Getting out of your head and more into your heart. Words we try to live by.

PICK UP THE PHONE 
“Pick up the phone” is about not getting stuck in a rut. Pushing through, even when no one else seems to believe in you or your vision. We are forged in the fire of our own will. You got to keep picking up that phone, even when no ones answering. 

BET IT ALL
This one was a bit of a lark. At some point, I had written the phrase (Bet it all on love) in a notebook, and this sprang from that. Basically a story of a man who’s weary of failed relationships who finally feels like he’s found someone to settle down with. Complete with plenty of gambling analogies. I kind of imagine Tom Jones in his prime singing this one. John Speice’s drumming on this really brings it all together. 

PRIMATES
With the state of the world being so heavy lately, I know a lot of people are going through a sort of existential crisis. When you take an honest look our current situation, Its hard not to question what is next for us as a species. “Primates” is just an attempt to put that question into song. 

LONG GOODBYE
We all know people in relationships that we believe are doomed to fail sooner or later. Sometimes even the people in the relationship know it hopeless, but don’t want to admit it to each other. We have had a few friends, ( not naming names ) who have been in these types of situations, and drew a lot of inspiration for this song from them.

THIS I KNOW
This is essentially a song about being appreciative for what you have, while you still have it. Sometimes we don’t express our gratitude when it means the most. Tell your loved ones how much you care while you still have the opportunity.

OMONI’I 
This song was written by our friend, and native Austinite, Samuel Greyhorse.  You may see him riding around town on his mule or at a club singing from atop his horse.  He is indeed a unique character. We are lucky to know him. He is also an accomplished songwriter in his own right, so we were honored that he came to us to put some music to the story of his spiritual journey to New Mexico, where he met with Uncle Eagle Elk. He graciously allowed us to include the song on our album. The end result is what I like to call our Casio spaghetti western.  

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