Portland, Oregon-based country quintet Countryside Ride have put their hearts and honky-tonk sound into their sophomore album, I Hope He Breaks Your Heart (Deer Lodge Records), a fourteen track collection of tunes – originals and covers – that find the band doing what they do best: playing good, ole’ fashioned country, honky-tonk, hillbilly, and western swing.
With the new album, the band mixes seven classic country songs (by the likes of Johnny Horton, Willie Nelson, Hank Cochran, and Billie Shaver) with seven originals (five written by frontman Bret Ervin Lien, one by bassist Jessica Marugg, and one by drummer Johnny Payola), to create a record that sounds straight out of the classic era of honky-tonk and western swing. The album was named after a Lien original on the album since the band liked the phrase so much, they wanted to use it for the album title.
Recorded at Portland, Oregon’s The Deer Lodge Studio with engineer/producer, and country music aficionado, Ezra Meredith, Meredith helped hone the band’s live sound, and build upon their 2011 self-titled release, keeping their live sound intact, while further allowing the songs to live and breath the golden era of classic country.
Being huge fans of country music and classic country records, most of which feature a wide array of covers in addition to originals, Countryside Ride not only stay true to their sound, but true to form as well, which is why they included half covers and half originals on the album.
Today Glide is excited to premiere the music video for “All You’ll Ever Be”, the first single off I Hope He Breaks Your Heart (Deer Lodge Records). Filmed inside the dive bar setting of the Deer Lodge itself, the song feels like a outlaw-tinged honky tonk number with thick twangy guitar, a driving groove, and some damn fine pedal steel work. It’s hard to believe this band hails from the Pacific Northwest as their sound feels authentically in tune with music you’d be more likely to hear in a Texas honky tonk bar.
Reflecting on the tune and the album as a whole, Countryside Ride’s Bret Ervin Lien has this to say:
“We have never been more pleased with the end result of any of our recordings than we are with this one. Working with Ezra Meredith at Deer Lodge was not only an absolute pleasure, but also a blessing. Ezra understood, exactly, the sound that we were going for and also expanded on that and took it a step further. The record does a really good job of showcasing what we do, as well as how we sound, when we’re playing one of our live shows. We’re chomping at the bit to get started on the next record.
We’ve never made a video before so this is really our first time messing around within this medium. I think it turned out pretty well. We spend a lot of time close together on tiny little stages or shoved into some nondescript corner playing honky tonk music all night long so, while we may look really crammed in there, that has quite often been the reality of the situation and we love it…not that we don’t appreciate the bigger stages: we certainly do. We love playing music, and I think you have to…otherwise there really isn’t a point. ‘All You’ll Ever Be’ is a contemptuous, one sided-take on a failed love affair told by the man who has been left behind. While I don’t want to see anyone’s heart get broken, I think it is a relatable story. I think everyone has their heart broken eventually. Hopefully this song helps.”
WATCH:
For more music and info visit countrysideride.com.
