John Calvin Abney Announces New LP SAFE PASSAGE Due Out 9/27

John Calvin Abney is set to return with a self-produced new LP Safe Passage via Black Mesa Records on September 27, 2019. It's the follow-up to 2018's Coyote, which Rolling Stone Country called "dreamy folk with a good balance of sadness and sunshine." From the start of Safe Passage's gentle opener, Abney draws a line between himself and the expectations of others. "I just want to feel good," he sings softly, setting the tone for the album's cyclical narrative, a ten-song exploration of happiness and self-acceptance and grace. This introspection continues and bleeds heavy on the album's lead single, "Turn Again," featured today at Wide Open Country. They state, "The fiddle-driven tune finds value in starting anew and being kind to yourself when you're staring down a road leading to old habits."

LISTEN: John Calvin Abney's "Turn Again":

Like "Turn Again," many of the songs on Safe Passage tend to look for the light in the face of tragedy, worry, or self-imposed struggle. "Kind Days" touches on 1950s and '60s tropical folk instrumentation and offers a sweet, swaying lesson in patience: "Bad days are leaving / No use in grieving / Here come those kind days." He reminds us to bring that kindness onto ourselves in "When the Dark Winds Blow," a harmonica-laden standout where he and his album-making cohorts belt during the chorus, "Can't be everything to everyone you know / Give yourself some grace when those dark winds blow." These poignant lyrical moments are complemented by memorable instances when his studio band really stretches its legs. Like on the plucky, fun, rock 'n' roll number "Days of Disconnect" where drummer Will Johnson (Centro-matic, Monsters of Folk), violinist/vocalist Megan Palmer, and bassist/vocalist Shonna Tucker (Drive By Truckers), as well as Abney himself on keys, sound as cohesive as a band that has toured together for decades.

Abney is a multi-talented sideman who's spent considerable time on the road and in the studio in service to other artists - most notably as the longtime guitarist for fellow Oklahoman, John Moreland, who sits in on acoustic and electric guitar throughout the new record - and his experience as an instrumentalist, arranger, and producer has honed his sense of what is essential to songs, resulting in a peaceful balance between his apparent joy for making music and the ever-present emotions of his writing. He's a lifelong student of composition and artistry whose influences and inspirations run vast and varied: Brian Wilson, Courtney Barnett, Nick and Molly Drake, Tulsa Sound pioneer J.J. Cale, Japanese pop godfather Haruomi Hosono, virtuosic guitarist Molly Tuttle, and even acclaimed video game music composers like Shogo Sakai and Yasunori Mitsuda. Abney is a keen observer and on Safe Passage he has developed his craft in a way that allows his sense of self of self to really shine through.

Safe Passage is due out September 27, 2019 via Black Mesa Records and is available for pre-order now HERE.

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