Known as Indie-folk/bluegrass revivalists, Water Tower hail from Los Angeles. Their sound is a mixture of traditional rustbelt combined with the attitude and power of punk rock. Their latest release, ‘Fly Around’ effortlessly mixes the genres with help from former Germs drummer Don Bolles on production duties.
‘Fly Around’ contains themes of travel and moving on, reflecting on co-founder Kenny Feinstein’s own personal experiences. ‘Fromage’, the opening song on the album contains verses in English, Spanish, and French and finds inspiration from youthful busking in Europe.
‘Fly Around’ features a mix of traditional bluegrass lyrics and themes with guest vocals from former Old Crow Medicine Show member Willie Watson.
‘Anthem’ is just that! A high-powered mix of power punk and cosmic bluegrass, it will be without doubt the standout track on the album for many listeners.
‘Come Down Easy’ and ‘Classic Misdirection’ switch the tempo down a gear and into a dreamy psychedelic 1960s pop soundscape. The instrumental ‘Mile High Club’ enhances the travel theme as sampled sounds of aeroplanes lifting off are played over an analogue synthesiser.
The gentle country ballads ‘Bobcats’ and ‘Fly Around’ hint at a more introspective and searching need within their lyrics.
Full of vibrant energy, great songs, and foot-stomping fun, ‘Fly Around’ is an exciting album that isn’t afraid to challenge an established genre by thinking outside of the box.