For more than a dozen years, Massy Ferguson have proudly planted their boots on both sides of the country-rock divide, carving out their own brand of amplified Americana along the way. Based in Seattle, they’ve become international torchbearers of a sound that’s distinctly American, with a touring history that spans nine different countries. On their fifth album, Great Divides (out May 17 on North & Left Records), they double down on their rock & roll roots, mixing bar-band twang with raw, guitar-driven bang. Gluing those sounds together is the songwriting partnership of bass-playing frontman Ethan Anderson and guitarist Adam Monda, whose songs spin stories of small-town adolescence, big-city adulthood, and the long miles of highway that stretch between.
Long before Massy Ferguson played their first show 2006, Anderson spent his childhood outside Seattle in the rural reaches of the Pacific Northwest. His parents were strictly religious, and he found himself at the local Pentecostal church almost every weekend, watching as his fellow congregants beat their Bibles and spoke in tongues. The spirit didn’t move him in quite the same way. In search of his own kind of clarity, Anderson turned to music: first to the country and folk artists whose songs reminded him of home, and later to the hard-edged rock bands who ruled the roost in Seattle, where he’d eventually relocate as an adult. Those two stylistic extremes — country and rock & roll — continue to rear their heads in his music.
Made complete by contributions from bandmates Dave Goedde and Fred Slater, Great Divides shines its light on dark memories, pivotal moments, small details, and the wisdom gained by years of doing unwise things. Massy Ferguson recorded the album with Martin Feveyear, known for his work with artists like Kings of Leon and Brandi Carlile. Some of the tracking sessions took place at a studio in Seattle. Others were hosted by Feveyear at his home on Vashon Island. Looking to capture a sound that was raw and immediate, the band kept things loose, throwing together arrangements on the spot and finishing lyrics moments before recording them in the vocal booth. As a result, there’s an urgency to Great Divides, from its widescreen-worthy anthems to its mid-tempo highlights.
This is an album about a man’s attempt to understand the world around him, moving from the limited horizons of his childhood to the (slightly) clearer reality of his adulthood. It’s the punky, half-cocked confidence of college rock mixed with the hungover honesty of alt-country. In short, it’s Massy Ferguson — a band whose electric stomp sounds like the soundtrack to the American Everyman.
Today Glide is excited to premiere “Can’t Remember”, a clear standout on Great Divides. Mixing cowpunk and alt-country, the song is reminiscent of acts like Uncle Tupelo, Son Volt, the Drive-By Truckers, and the addition of piano adds a touch of Lucero and The Hold Steady. Ethan Anderson sings in a way that is direct and heartfelt, firing off his vocals from the hip. What really sets this song apart – and really everything Massy Ferguson puts out for that matter – is just how catchy the song is, reminding us that the band is still completely underrated.
Ethan Anderson describes the story behind the song in his own words:
“This song was inspired by a night I had when I first moved to Seattle from a small town in northern Washington. It basically tells the story of me drunkenly talking to a cocktail waitress who actually later became my now wife.
My wife worked in the restaurant industry for a number of years before she went back to college and had a lot of buzzed idiots like me talking to her. I’d like to think she chose the right one in the end (laughs)
‘Can’t Remember’ was the first song we wrote in this new batch of tracks, so we’ve been kicking around the idea for a few years. What I like about how the recording turned out is there is a certain franticness of things. The piano, the vocals, the drums, the guitar and even the little bit of pedal steel have a sense of (somewhat) controlled chaos”
LISTEN:
Great Divides to be released on North & Left Records May 17th.
Photo credit: Rich Zollner
