Alex Lowe has gone back to his roots. On his third solo album, "Step Forward All False Prophets," the former Hurricane 1 frontman has returned to the country rock sound that he grew up with.
Written in five days, "Step Forward All False Prophets" is the work of a man who has rediscovered the power of classic song writing. Gone is the indie-roc...
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Alex Lowe has gone back to his roots. On his third solo album, "Step Forward All False Prophets," the former Hurricane 1 frontman has returned to the country rock sound that he grew up with.
Written in five days, "Step Forward All False Prophets" is the work of a man who has rediscovered the power of classic song writing. Gone is the indie-rock sound of old, replaced by down and dirty, whiskey-soaked tales about preachers, angels, whores and devils.
The ghost of Johnny Cash looms large over these acoustic recordings, coupled with the story telling tradition of Bob Dylan and the "tear in yer beer" melancholy of Gram Parsons, Jayhawks and early Wilco.
"I have always been into that country style," says Alex. "I like Dylan, Tom Petty, Uncle Tupelo and Son Volt. Johnny Cash was a total rock 'n' roll icon, a dirty angel. I always wanted to make an acoustic album and I am glad I have finally got the chance to do this."
"I don't think it's country as such," he adds, "but I do think it's quite alternative, as the lyrics are mostly based on strange events. I am really proud of the lyrics, they're my best yet. It's funny, but if you listen to the album there is a very spiritual nature about the whole thing. I am not a religious person at all, but there is a sense of a higher being in these songs. They're all to do with angels, preachers, and whores, saving people, gunfights and the Devil."
During the recording of the album, Alex sought inspiration from both Dylan and Petty. He had always liked Dylan, but during the recording process he dug deep and found out more about him.
"While I was making the new album, all I listened to was Dylan and Tom Petty," he says. "My favourite Dylan song is 'A Hard Rain's Gonna Fall'. It's amazing."
Alex is so taken with his latest direction that he's heading out to Nashville to record some brand new songs for a future release. In the meantime, however, he's just keen for his latest album to be heard.
"I'm very pleased with it," he sayd. "I just want people to hear it. I just want one person to love it. But at the same time, let's hope it's not a lost classic; I don't want to turn into a Nick Drake type person. That would be a bummer!"
It sure would.
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