If Wichita, Will Bennett & The Tells’ rollicking 2016 debut, was the sound of a singer-songwriter moving away from his hometown of Grinnell, IA, and starting a band, the group’s follow-up, All Your Favorite Songs (out July 26th) marks the confident sound of Bennett coming home.
Written in the wake of an unexpected visit home after his father suffered a stroke, All Your Favorite Songs immerses the listener in the world of small-town Iowa: the inevitable march to the town’s shitty dive bar (“Rabbitt’s”), the unending conflict between longing to leave (“Just Looking”) and rationalizing staying (“Linger On”), and ultimately, why we come back (“All Your Favorite Songs”). But despite its origins, this 11-track collection is not a somber affair.
All Your Favorite Songs is a celebration of a forgotten slice of flyover country, a love letter told through three-minute bursts of the Chicago quartet’s country-tinged rock and roll. It’s an ethos that is embedded in everything from the music and lyrics all the way down to the quilt, handmade by Bennett’s mother, that adorns the cover.
Recorded at Chicago’s Shirk Studios with engineer Stephen Shirk (Joe Pug), All Your Favorite Songs captures the spirit of the band’s raucous live shows. You can hear echoes of early Old 97’s in the freight train rhythm section of drummer Daniel Martinson and bassist Ethan Kenvarg, who lay the foundation for Wilson Brehmer’s nimble Jay Farrar-meets-Tommy Stinson guitar work and Bennett’s infectious, sharp-witted songwriting. Guest appearances from Wichita collaborator Brandon Bankes on pedal steel and Erik Jarvis (Pink Neighbor) on organ imbue the band’s cowpunk sound with some Countrypolitan flourishes.
Today Glide is excited to premiere “Rabbitt’s”, the opening track on the new album. The song brings you right into the world of a small town dive bar as Bennett sings about the local watering hole and the larger metaphor for what it represents about life. Backed by a rollicking alt-country sound, Bennett’s vocals bring to mind Gordon Gano of the Violent Femmes but with a bit more of a twang. Lyrically, he paints a picture of a place that may feel familiar to anyone who has spent time in a small town bar. The marks an exciting opening to an impressive collection of tunes from a talented up-and-coming group.
Will Bennett reflects on the inspiration behind the song:
“With this song I was trying to capture the restless energy of life after graduating from college. I was living at home in a small town in rural Iowa. It was a period in my life full of both hope and uncertainty, and at times the most sure thing was making the trek to Rabbitt’s, our local dive bar.”
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Photo credit: Lou Engleman
