The word Altamesa technically is not a word. Not in English. Not even in Spanish. Loosely interpreted, it could translate to signify a “higher plateau,” an elevated, rarefied vantage point from which to view the surrounding landscape and environment. It was with this interpretation in mind that songwriter Evan Charles lent the Altamesa moniker to a new musical venture in early 2016. The word was intended by Charles to evoke the sprawling desert plains and desolate panoramas of the American West, the setting in which the project found its first inspirational bloom. It was there, in the shadow of the Davis Mountains, that Charles and fellow songwriter Sean Faires first began their long-standing fascination with the wealth of the desert’s silent lore, the beauty and dread of those western badlands and the people that inhabit them.
On February 8th the band will release their new full-length album Idol Frontier, which finds them sharpening their unique style of cosmic Americana. The album was recorded in all the way back in 2016 at the Skeleton Farm Studio just outside their home base of Austin, Texas in Leander. Skeleton Farm is owned by Aaron Behrens from Ghostland Observatory and The Midnight Stroll. The album was mastered at Terra Nova Studios in 2017. The record was co-produced by Sean Faires and Jonas Wilson and features Evan Charles (vocals, guitars), Sean Faires (guitars, backing vocals), Billy Potts of The Black and White Years and Nic Armstrong and the Thieves (drums), Chris Ritchie of Shivery Shakes (bass), Bill Stevenson of Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears (bass), Z Lynch of Jonathan Tyler, The Tender Things (bass and backing vocals), Jonas Wilson of The Midnight Stroll (keys/synths, percussion), Ricky Ray Jackson of Steve Earle and the Dukes and Phosphorescent (pedal steel) and Kullen Fuchs of Charley Crockett (trumpet).
Today Glide is excited to share an exclusive premiere of the album’s title track “Idol Frontier”. With the opening power chord the song immediately brings to mind the straightforward American rock of Tom Petty mixed with the wandering loner quality of Neil Young, complete with an infectious chorus. Evan Charles and Sean Faires prove to be savvy in the art of writing universally digestable “cosmic Americana” that feels sweeping and cinematic. Given their big rock sound with the right amount of pop undertones, it’s easy to picture Altamesa filling large rooms with eager fans.
Altamesa band member Evan Charles describes the song in his own words:
“‘Idol Frontier’ was my attempt to write a highly panoramic song, full of warm and saturated color, from the point of view of a person living on the existential precipice, the line between a former life forever lost and what feels and looks like an endless emptiness ahead. I don’t know why I got interested in painting this sort of picture, except perhaps that these are the stories where desperation births heroes, where tragedy finds its final bloom. More than any of that, I just wanted to merge the words with the melody to form a seamless piece in which a listener can wander around, a place where your imagination can roam with the imagery. Never hurts to throw a few mean guitar licks over the top either…”
LISTEN:
