The fourth album from Brooklyn-based This Frontier Needs Heroes, Real Job, is comprised of esteemed songwriter Brad Loretta and friends. Like their previous album Hooky, the duo brought in a handful of talented friends to help out. Joining singer-songwriter Brad Lauretti (Vocals and Guitar) are Sadie Frederick (Vocals and Violin) Cash Carter (Drums) Ryan Vogel (Bass) Adam Kurtz (Pedal Steel) and Jon Loyd (Keys). The main difference between Real Job and its predecessor is almost a complete genre change, from indie rock to a more folk/Americana feel, which makes for their best sound yet.
The rich musical history of Athens, Georgia, must have seeped through the walls of the Glow Studio because this album is filled to the brim with creativity and intricate lyrics, while giving off a vibe just shy of effortless. You can easily picture the band members leisurely rolling through the complex rhythms while Lauretti’s chill attitude contrasts the lyrics tinged with instances of revolt. For the most part, this new collection of songs was written over a two-week period during October 2015 while Lauretti was attending the Stetson Kennedy Songwriting Residency at Beluthahatchee Park (Fruit Cove, FL), the same place where Woody Guthrie wrote over 80 songs and Kennedy, himself, wrote some of his greatest works providing the a solid source of inspiration. While the overall sound may be simple, the lyrics will challenge you to think.
Today Glide Magazine is excited to present the new music video for the infectiously catchy tune “My Heart Tells Me Yes”. Vocally, the songs brings to mind the likes of troubadours such as Billy Bragg, but with a touch of rockabilly and doo wop thrown in for good measure. The video and lyrics speak to the kind of disfunctional relationships we’ve all experienced, and with Brad Lauretti at the helm we are given the feeling that everything will be A-OK in the end.
Speaking on the video and the song, Lauretti says, “My friend Leo Vanegas is a writer and filmmaker from Bogota, Colombia and was my roommate in Brooklyn, NY. He had shot this silent film that he had never released, and when I sent him my new album I asked him about it. We realized that it synced up perfectly with ‘My Heart Tells Me Yes.’ We added some lyrics to help tell the story. The song wasn’t supposed to be completely about a relationship, but about the struggle of the mind/heart connection when you make any life decision. Watching the couple argue in the film, though, it has a kind of dark humor to it.”
WATCH:
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Real Job is out now. For music and more info on This Frontier Needs Heroes visit thisfrontierneedsheroes.com.
Photo credit: Dennis Ho
