Years before kicking off his career as a folk-rock singer/songwriter, Nick Pagliari grew up in Memphis, TN, raised on the soulful sounds of the south. Stax classics and Muscle Shoals hits filled the family jukebox, along with songs by Billy Joel, the Beach Boys, and Motown groups. Nick later moved to Nashville, where he released a pair of acclaimed albums before heading west to Austin. Even so, that childhood soundtrack — a blend of roots, rhythm, and raw melody — always felt like home.
Midway, Pagliari’s third record (due out January 31st, 2020) — and first in over a decade — finds him revisiting the sounds that helped shape his love for music. Fueled by sharp songwriting, blasts of brass, swirling organ, and rootsy arrangements, it’s an Americana album that focuses on Memphis soul rather than Nashville twang. It’s also a return to form for Pagliari, whose recent years have found the longtime songwriter living in Texas and focusing on a different career altogether: healthcare.
“I took a break from music full-time when I turned 30, and decided to go back to school and pursue something new,” he says. “It’s been good for me. It’s giving me a different purpose. It’s allowed me to find a nice balance.”
Maybe that’s why Midway feels like such a fresh renewal of Pagliari’s sound. Influenced by icons like Tom Petty, Van Morrison, and the Band, his songs have always packed a direct punch, rooted in the fuss-free appeal of his voice and folksy songwriting. Those same ingredients ground Midway, but so does Pagliari’s broadened perspective. He’s a 40something Renaissance man these days, having become a father, husband, and medical professional since the release of his previous album, Please and Thank You.
Much has changed since Pagliari moved to Nashville in 2002. Back then, the place felt like a small town, still nearly a decade away from the growth spurt that would turn it into an “it city” for thousands of new residents. Writing for a publishing company on Music Row, Pagliari scored multiple placements in television and film, while also playing a string of shows — including one memorable Nashville gig in which multiple members of REM showed up, eventually hopping onstage for an impromptu jam. With Midway, though, he doesn’t lean on his past successes. This is an album whose warm, vintage-inspired sound nods to the past while pushing toward something new. The road goes on forever, and Pagliari — midway through or not — is charting his own course.
Today Glide is excited to offer an exclusive premiere of “Ride the River”, one of the standout songs on Midway. With brassy flourishes, Pagilari blends swooning roots rock with a touch of Memphis soul. Their is a straightforward throwback rock sound to his voice and lyrics that brings to mind Tom Petty alongside more country-minded contemporaries like Chris Stapleton. Pagliari showcases his penchants for writing uplifting songs that seems to connect and resonate in a universal, everyman kind of way. The song itself is catchy and emotionally powerful, and part of the beauty comes from Pagliari and his band being unafraid to stretch out, let their instruments shine, and lock into a laid back groove.
In his own words, Pagliari describes the tune as “a metaphorical number where the narrator longs for forgiveness for his questionable past in hopes they can spend their life with the someone that they’ve let down & disappointed.”
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One Response
Nick deserves everything that is coming to him. He is one of my favorite songwriters. Rarely does a writer capture my attention and emotions like he can. I wish the very highest form of success for him and his music.