Alien Country – “So-Called Friends” (track review)

Alien Country’s Like My Life Depends On It may not introduce you to the idea of space cowboys, but it’s probably the first musical venture to essentially delve into them as its overarching theme that you’re aware of. The passion project of soloist Liam Marcus Torres, Alien Country invariably lives up to its name, dusting up images of the old west betwixt galaxies far, far away. On paper, it sounds like it shouldn’t have any business working, but it somehow does. What it does, too, it does astoundingly well. This is not a middling affair for Torres, but the invigorating jolt into the heart of what may very well be a long-standing career for the artist under his new moniker.

This writer’s personal favorite track is Like My Life Depends On It’s opener, wherein Torres instantaneously takes us to the intergalactic honky-tonk with its spacial twang. Thematically, it’s a classic love song with homegrown Americana flavor to boot. Torres is appealing to the one of his fancy, detailing his yearning for another in heartfelt fashion. Where Torres seeks to innovate is in the way this arrangement is produced, featuring an atmospheric vibe with plenty of reverb touching upon melodious guitar licks. The end result is a spacial western romance that, as strange as it sounds, is an easy sell once you lend it an ear.

Words by: Jonathan Frahm (@jfrahm_)