Sentimental Family Band is the songwriting partnership of Camille Lewis, Kyle Albrecht and Matthew Shepherd. The Texas-born and raised friends cut their chops in various corners of Austin’s diverse and bustling music scene but bonded over a shared affinity for the midcentury sounds of Bakersfield and Nashville alike. Filtered through the limestone aquifers of the Hill Country, fried in the Texas summer sun, and punched up with a little chile pequin, these familiar ingredients begin to transform into the new old sounds of the Sentimental Family Band.
Camille, Kyle and Matthew have been playing in bands around Austin together for the last decade, and they began gigging regularly as Sentimental Family Band in 2021 after becoming mutually obsessed with 1950s and 60s country music. The three players comprise both the rhythm section (Lewis on rhythm guitar, Albrecht on bass, Shepherd on drums) as well as the songwriting nucleus of the group – resulting in compositions and arrangements that are carefully crafted around the groove and feel of each tune.
Having honed their sound in famous Austin honky tonks such as the Broken Spoke, White Horse, Sagebrush – formerly Chaparral Club – plus a weekly residency at the legendary Sam’s Town Point, the band’s original tunes are geared towards the many two-steppers that frequent those same dance halls.
Today Glide is excited to premiere the band’s new single “Never Love Again” ahead of its official release on Friday, August 25th via Tomika Records. With Camille channeling modern artists like Laura Cantrell and Ester Rose alongside classic honky tonk sounds, the song manages to feel both old and new at the same time. Just the right amount of twangy guitar, swooning vocals that are melancholy yet charming, and the kind of barroom piano that would make Floyd Cramer smile come together to make for a damn fine country tune. If ever there was a song made for one of those tears in your beer moments at the local saloon, this is it.
“Never Love Again” was recorded with Billy Horton at his Fort Horton Studios in Wyldwood, Texas and showcases the talents of the group’s regular lead players: Simon Page on pedal steel, J.J. Swinn on piano, and Thibault Ripault on lead guitar. Released on Theo Lawrence’s Bordeaux-based Tomika Records, it is the band’s second-ever single, and they very much look forward to recording and sharing more music soon.
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