Country Westerns Premiere "Gentle Soul' Ahead of May 1 Album Release

Fat Possum’s latest addition, Country Westerns, premieres its track “Gentle Soul” off of its self-titled debut album today on American Songwriter. The song is the band’s not-so-subtle entrance to the Nashville Rock scene. Described as Nashville-born Replacements or a harder-rocking Drive-By Truckers, Country Westerns will launch their first record into circulation on May 1st.

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The ‘Country Westerns’ title is not to be mistaken as a namesake. This Indie Rock band is shaking up the Nashville scene with their poetic punk rock sneer. Lead singer, Joseph Plucket’s raspy twang elevates his lyric lines. Unwavering riffs on a twelve-string electric guitar add to a sound that is larger than expected from a three-piece band.

“‘Gentle Soul’ is the first song we recorded for this album, and it’s one I’d been kicking around for a while. It’s about righteous anger and reclamation in spite of betrayal. But now I sense something equally sinister and cowardly; pride that leads from loss to resignation. Plus, I dig the guitar solo, and it’s easy to sing along to,” shared singer and guitarist Plunket.

The two lead founders of the band, Brian Kotzar and Joseph Plunket met at Plunket’s bar he opened in Nashville after relocating from New York ten years ago. Before heading South, Plunket led Brooklyn’s band, The Weight, while also playing bass for Atlanta’s Gentleman Jesse on the side. He first bonded with Kotzur, previously a drummer for Silver Jews, over their shared desire to be in a band in a town seemingly saturated with solo artists and hired guns.

The pair got to work in 2016 writing riffs and tracking demos out of Kotzur’s garage. After a year of crafting their sound, Country Westerns began to form into something tangible. With a few songs under their belt, Kotzur and Plunket embarked on their search for the third ‘Country Western.’ Eventually bringing on friend, Sabrina Rush, as a bassist, the group started recording those songs with a complete lineup.

Rush is a violinist and member of the Louisville band, State Champion. For someone who had never previously played bass, Rush blew the group away with how naturally the instrument came to her and how well her harmonic bass lines fit into their unique sound.

Country Westerns began recording in Nashville with sound engineer Andrija Tokic. With the influence of enthusiast and producer Matt Sweeney, the group relocated to Brooklyn’s Strange Weather Studios for the next session. It was here they worked with Daniel Schlett and recorded songs that lead them into a record deal with Fat Possum.

Country Westerns are part of a new generation of Fat Possum artists. The label started in 1992 and focused primarily on recording low-country soul stars. As of recent, they have been incorporating rock artists and groups with varying influence and plenty of promise.

Listen to “Gentle Soul” here and look for more from Country Westerns on May 1 via Fat Possum Records. If you dig what you hear, pre-order on BandCamp or pre-save on Spotify and Apple Music.