It’s hard to ignore an artist who keeps remarkably talented company (consider Greg Leisz, James Intveld, Sara Watkins, etc.), so I’m pleased to be able to share a free download from Nick13, whose recent self-titled release dropped on Sugar Hill on June 7, 2011.
The tune is called “Carry My Body Down,” and there’s really no better descriptor for it than “psychobilly,” which is what’s used in his press materials. (You may know I’m not a huge fan of made-up genres, but sometimes that’s the only option.) I don’t have a whole lot to say about the tune, other than that it’s well worth your time to listen. Where many Americana singer-songwriters follow a similar aesthetic, there’s a noir element to this tune. My first impression was that he was sort of a male version of Eilen Jewell.
He described the song thusly:
I don’t know where this song came from, there’s a bitof a “Ghost Riders In The Sky” feel to it. This song has Western elements, acoustics over a hypnotic train beat played with brushes, vintage Gretsch and Fender guitars through Fender blackface amps and atmosphere layered with reverb and tape delay. All these things recall the template of my first song in this vein, “Outlaw Heart”, written for the 1999 debut of my other band Tiger Army. The songs in this style were detours from the more bombastic approach the band generally takes, but I revisited the style at least once per album over the following decade. Central to this sound is the playing of Greg Leisz, who played on that first song then (eventually leading to his co-producing this record with James Intveld all these years later), and whose playing features prominently on this song in particular.
Download the MP3: “Carry My Body Down”
A little more about Nick13, according to his bio:
Nick 13 is the frontman for the psychobilly LA based Tiger Army, but his solo work recalls the vintage American sounds of honky-tonk and classic California country from the middle of the last century with a modern twist. He’s already performed at Stagecoach, Hootenanny (right before Chuck Berry) and South By Southwest.
Though he is mainly known (especially on the west coast) as punk/psychobilly artist, Nick is a thoughtful and impassioned student and fan of country music…Or as Tom Lanham of the San Francisco Examiner says, “[Nick 13] is dutifully exploring his alt-country heritage”.
Greg Leisz and James Intveld produced the album, with mixing duties handled by GRAMMY award winner Jim Scott (Wilco, Tom Petty, Dixie Chicks). Artists featured on the album include pedal steel legend Lloyd Green, Sara Watkins, Josh Grange, Eddie Perez and Mitch Marine.
NICK 13 TOUR DATES
June 22 Brighton Music Hall – Boston, MA
June 24 Bowery Ballroom – NYC
June 25 Black Cat – Washington, DC
June 27 Vinyl – Atlanta, GA
June 28 Mercy Lounge – Nashville, TN
June 30 Lincoln Hall – Chicago IL
