A Country Western - Audition Tape
Crafted Sounds
Philadelphia's A Country Western return with 33-minutes of jangle-infused indie. It's the Philly four-pieces first record since 2024's Life on the Lawn. It was released via a very trusted source of contemporary music in Crafted Sounds.
Audition Tape begins on 5-minutes at "45 Degrees". It feels like an up-hill battle, for sure. Sluggish and slow to get going. 45-degrees in 45ºC(113ºF). A fight to the birth, and the inevitable. A Sisyphean proposition. Push that weight, bro. Slip away. Slip inside. Slip away from the worst of times.
'45 degrees is that the way that I lean?
If it's not for you, maybe it is for me.'
45º: exactly halfway between a flat line and an upright right angle. In between the floor and an upright facet. The space between somewhere and nowhere. The journey.
'Sleep and dream away, my friend'
We're straight into track two "Audition". An instrumental. An energy booster, uplifter. The sluggish start is well-and-truly shrugged off.
Lead single "Blood Eagle" set us on the trajectory towards Audition Tape. The sub-2-minute offering leans more into a hazey and somewhat Grungy sound.
Speaking on the track, Erik Hilbert of ACW had this to say:
'I was mostly inspired by the brutality of "Halo Mode"(another track on Audition Tape). Garrett(also of ACW) has a propensity for writing indie rock songs that absoloutely slam. The demo existed without lyrics until we started recording it with Dan(Angel). The lyrics are just kind of a collection of words I felt made a vignette that conjured the same doom and gloom as Beowulf, which I had been writing opens about all week.'
'At the time
I was thinking it was prophetic
Scribbled script
Tattooed on your thigh muscle'
That which was once precocious now just another. The truth will reveal itself.... in time. It's always there - staring you straight down the barrel, ready to redlight your existence. The once prophetic turns wax-lyrical-nonsense - a tasty treat full of nothing. Where you are isn't where you're at. In our own way. Placing ourselves above, rather than besides, and more often than not far below. You could find paradise in a dustbin, if you'd allow it, and had the immune system to match.
Photo by Luke Ivanovich
"Not Far Enough" has this twee feel to it. Like a rouged complexion imprinted on the outer world. A shyness that can't hide.
'Everybody laughs when I talk
And says I'm kinda lost
I came pretty far
But not far enough'
Backed by a mechanical beat "I Found" throws these atmospheric flourishes into the mix. Light rainfall and a calmness found in wise ways. Gentle reminders that the rough makes the smooth. The tough times are here to awaken some sort appreciation for the overarching experience. A tender bout of gratitude to uplift your ungrateful ass. A guiding light when street lights aren't enough.
Cool-Country. Hip-Country. "Wider" is, sonically, a gangly cowboy with offset, wrong-set limbs. Kept together by sticky-tape. A crackly jaunter.
The transition between "Halo Mode" and "The Energy" is a bit jarring, immediate. It feels a bit rushed within the fairly well-flowing context of the album. Saying that/this, the lyrics do refer to 'flying for the finish'.
'I don't believe in karma
It all ends up the same'
Batter up. Baseball fields full of homeruns. An Autumnal breeze swishes the orange-hued foliage in circles. Crisp. Pumpkins and pooches. Spiced beverages. Mittens. Spirits on a melancholic high.
Audition Tape ends on an electronic-infused note. Solvent OS Remix(?). I'm not entirely sure of its purpose. It doesn't fit the feel of the rest of the album. Maybe I'm missing a memo of some sort?
Overall, the Philly four-piece manage to muster up yet another concise slice of Indie goodness. It's Philly - whaddya expect?
