Rose City Band – “Lights On The Way”

Really excited to see a new album from Rose City Band on the way this year. Many have taken the mantle of Cosmic Americana to heart, but RCB may be, perhaps, the standard bearers of the genre these days. Born out of a love for ‘70s private press country and folk, Ripley Johnson has transitioned from the harder hues of Moon Duo and Wooden Shjips into the melted sun simmer that’s become Rose City’s hallmark. The albums marry the liquid light of his guitar playing with a packed and stacked backing band that includes pedal steel guitarist Barry Walker, keyboardist Paul Hasenberg and drummer John Jeffrey. The first taste of the upcoming Sol y Sombra is the driving delight of “Lights on the Way.” Stretching towards the horizon, the song captures the sun on the mountains, the breeze in the trees, and those last lingering moments before summer gives way to the chill of Autumn. It’s a perfect song to sit on your speakers in early October and if the record’s not already on top of your 2024 wishlist by the time the last notes drift away, I don’t think I can help you. Sol y Sombra is out January 24th from Thrill Jockey.

Support the artist. Buy it HERE.