With the Feb. 1, 2019, release of Reed Foehl’s fifth solo album, Lucky Enough, fans will get a dose of powerful medicine, a cathartic collection of 10 songs that Foehl recorded with help from a mighty musical force, The Band of Heathens, at their Finishing School studio in Austin, Texas. It’s an album that will undoubtedly solidify his standing as one of the most compelling and vital Americana artists around.
On Lucky Enough, Foehl touches on a range of Americana styles, all with emotionally charged lyrics and can’t-get-out-of-your-head choruses, from somber folk elegies (“Stealing Starlight” and “American Miles”) and gospel-tinged tunes (“Carousel Horses”) to barroom country singalongs (“Long Time to Make Old Friends”) and jaunty calypso-flavored, country-infused pop (“Wish I Knew”). These are deeply personal songs for Foehl, and while they were written during some dark days, there’s a sense of optimism and gratitude, an overriding feeling that the hope outshines the heartbreak.
He gets help from a handful of friends, including Austin’s The Band of Heathens, who ultimately served as his backing back throughout the recording. Lucky Enough, which will be released on Green Mountain Records, was engineered and mixed by Steve Christensen and mastered by Fred Kevorkian. Lucky Enough is dedicated to the memory of Foehl’s mother and a keen sense of loss flavors the album. But there’s also a sense of hope, of forward momentum, change and a celebration of love, including not just the romantic variety but the kind a guy has for the oldest of old friends. For Foehl, creating Lucky Enough with The Band of Heathens has been a cathartic process.
Today Glide is excited to premiere “American Miles”, a folksy road song that Foehl penned with another friend, songwriter Gregory Alan Isakov. The song was inspired by traveling and the great American landscape, and the vocals in the beginning immediately conjure images of staring out the window of a car as it cruises along a lonesome highway at sunrise. Foehl keeps the instrumentation sparse, letting a lightly picked acoustic and the quiet thumb of a drum create the groove while the occasional flourish of a piano and a tambourine. His vocals have a dreamy folk quality that reflects the quietly reflective lyrics.
In his own words, Foehl has this to say about the song:
“I started the initial verse and melody idea a few years back and then brought it to my songwriter pal Gregory Alan Isakov to help me finish the song. He then added to the melody and chorus lyrics, and it started to take shape, but then he decided to use some of the chorus lyrics for one of his own songs and asked for them back! We reassembled the pieces and ‘American Miles’ was born. I recorded this song twice before it finally came to its current life with The Band of Heathens at the helm.”
LISTEN:
Reed Foehl will be on tour supporting Todd Snider this March. Lucky Enough is out February 1, 2019. Check out tour dates below and visit reedfoehlmusic.com for more music and info.
3/13 Wed – The Gramercy Theatre – New York, NY
3/14 Thu – Ardmore Music Hall – Ardmore, PA
3/15 Fri – The Sinclair – Cambridge, MA
3/17 Sun – Infinity Music Hall & Bistro – Hartford, CT
3/18 The Birchmere – Alexandria, VA
3/20 Wed- The Beacon Theater – Hopewell, VA
3/22 Fri – Lincoln Theater- Raleigh, NC
3/23 Sat – Neighborhood Theatre – Charlotte, NC
3/24 Sun – The Orange Peel – Asheville, NC
Photo credit: Kate Drew Miller
One Response
Way to go Reed…..congratulations ?❤