Front Country is a band on the precipice of a metamorphosis. As multi-instrumentalists, songwriters and composers, the instrumentation and setting have always been secondary to the musical vision that comes through no matter what stage they take. For a band with a genre in their name, genre has always been elusive for Front Country, as they refuse to pick sides or be constrained by any expectations outside their own singular aesthetic. From their beginnings in the SF Bay Area to their new hometown of Nashville, TN, Melody Walker, Adam Roszkiewicz and Jacob Groopman have been on a journey to discover a sound.
Check out Front Country’s new song “How Can You Sing”(below) off their upcoming LP Impossible World (out 10/30) we just discovered here at Glide. “How Can You Sing” is a gorgeous solemn number that recalls the calming northern folk of Cowboy Junkies and the indie charm of Mazzy Star. The song serves as appeal to empathy and authenticity in a time when we are constantly pulled outward into performance and artifice.
“This song is a message to my inner cynic. I write a lot of songs as reminders to myself, from my higher self, and this one is about softening the outer walls and leaning into discomfort — to remember that nothing good happens in life without vulnerability” says frontwoman Melody Walker.
“It’s all about finding balance, and for me, cultivating softness is my challenge. For others, it might be the opposite. At some point, I realized I had grown this really thick skin that helped me get through a harsh world, but it was stopping me from feeling anything too deeply. I think a lot of people can probably relate to that. It is a constant struggle to be aware of it and try to push back against it — to have healthy boundaries, but not fortress walls. Especially now, when we are all supposed to present these bulletproof versions of ourselves and our lives on social media, it can be really hard to discern what is true in our own inner worlds anymore. Appearances become more important than reality and happiness gets further out of reach. Embodiment practices like singing can reconnect us to our emotions, our empathy, and our connection to the universe and each other.”
