The Good Morning Nags release EP

The Good Morning Nags release EP

SOUNDCLOUD: https://soundcloud.com/thegoodmorningnags/sets/no-damn-good-ep-1

New York City’s The Good Morning Nags are singlehandedly bringing the fluidity of old school Americana back into country music with their new EP No Damn Good, and both new and longtime fans of the band are guaranteed not to be disappointed with the caliber of content to behold in its two songs. As a lifelong follower of country music, I’ve witnessed the commercial scale back of big western artists in favor of more transcendent, alternative minded acts over the course of the last ten years, but not until recently have I really started to understand the reason why country needs to evolve if it’s going to remain a relevant genre. Pop culture is constantly changing, and in order for country to continue being America’s official soundtrack, it needs to start looking and sounding more like America as it stands today.

“Birmingham” is an excellent example of The Good Morning Nags compositional skill, and it gets the No Damn Good EP started on a very relaxed note. Led by a delicate bluegrass twang, the track slowly churns and plods along, the strings warring with each other and then finding reconciliation under the weight of the vocals. Even the most querulous critic would have a hard time denying that this is an exquisitely original meld of traditional Appalachian folk music and contemporary country swagger, and personally I found that it only takes one listen to have its quaint prose seared into your mind for the duration of your days.

The title track follows up “Birmingham” in a pointedly more bombastic tone, unleashing a dusty old swing beat that recalls country’s golden age quite vividly. There’s plenty of that sweet southern charm that made America fall in love with the sound of midcentury Chattanooga circuit bands and country-blues singer/songwriters, but The Good Morning Nags made sure to avoid drifting into that oh so undesirable “retro” territory that has plagued bands with likeminded ambitions. What’s more, the band’s rejection of nonchalant attitudes when it comes to devising their aesthetical persona has not only preserved their integrity but created an insular environment where supreme artistic cultivation is possible. A lot of musicians talk a big game when it comes to sticking with DIY ideals, but The Good Morning Nags’ approach to recording is the definition of authenticity itself.

Nashville has better watch out, because these New Yorkers are coming to take over the town one spellbinding lyric at a time, and they’re doing a fantastic job of getting audiences around the nation excited about country music once again. I’ve been following The Good Morning Nags since their inception, but I must say that I found No Damn Good to be their most mature and fully realized release to date. It lives up to the expectations created by their previous output but also hints at where the band’s sound might be going in the future, making it a transitional piece that is ironically their most fundamentally accessible yet. I encourage anyone who loves freewheeling fun music to give it a spin – country fans in particular won’t regret it.

Mindy McCall