Music Review: The Lostines and Nick Shoulders & the Okay Crawdad, ‘Heart of Night’
Two labels and two acts join to offer a tantalizing sampler of modern alternative Americana’s possibilities.
Heart of Night album artwork.
In December 2022, Arkansas label Gar Hole Records and Louisiana’s Mashed Potato Records teamed up on a four-song release, two by throwback pop duo The Lostines and two by Gar Hole founder and artist Nick Shoulders. The two acts first crossed paths when Shoulders lived in New Orleans pre-pandemic; both of them previously recorded with Mashed Potato and are currently on the Gar Hole roster.
I don’t know how common it is for labels to collaborate like this, or for an EP to have two completely separate acts on it. I’ve certainly never come across one before. But it’s kind of brilliant; a fan of one act has a chance to get to know and potentially love the other act even if they’ve never heard of them. That was the case for me. Having seen Nick Shoulders live and been blown away by his otherworldly Ozark-influenced voice and old-time country band, I was curious to hear the Lostines, who I’d never heard of.
Photo of The Lostlines courtesy of Gar Hole Records.
The EP opens with The Lostines’ “A Tear.” I was initially surprised by how different their sound was from the country stylings of Shoulders, but I was soon transported by their retro-pop sound and harmonies. “A Tear” has all the sweetness and charm of a ’50s or ’60s girl group, but there’s something spooky and moody about it that sends shivers down the spine. That fits the sad lyrics about lost love: “Lonely nights are all that’s left for me / cuz I have to say goodbye to your brown eyes.” The throwback but somehow modern instrumentation builds to a crescendo that’s thrilling and melancholy at the same time.
Next is The Lostines’ soft, ethereal waltz “Last Night.” Gentle layers of harmonies and strings carry the swooning lyrics, a dreamlike account of a night with a lover “made of earth and wood.” The imagery flickers and burns with disorienting passion:
Last night you held me for the first time
A gentle breeze blew in through the open windows
Surrounded by the soft glow of a candle, burning down
Melting everything around
From my body to the floorboards
Rattling the windows and doors
Like “A Tear,” “Last Night” manages to sound haunting and deliciously romantic at the same time. If this sampler of The Lostines is representative of their sound, I’m sold.
Nick Shoulders. Photo credit: Connor Reever.
The EP continues the waltz theme with the third track, Nick Shoulders & the Okay Crawdad’s rendition of “Heart of Glass” by Blondie. Unlike the lush strings and layered harmonies of “Last Night,” this song is spare and stripped back in its instrumentation, featuring nothing but acoustic guitar, standup bass and Shoulders’ voice (occasionally joined by bass player Grant D'Aubin on harmonies).
The chills induced by The Lostines don’t subside thanks to that voice. Even having heard it before, I felt unprepared for the startling clarity of his high tenor, the purity of his falsetto in vocal breaks, the bold embrace of his unusual delivery. Shoulders slows down “Heart of Glass,” elongating and lingering on certain syllables, giving the waltz an irresistible, unhurried swing rhythm. The song is performed theatrically with an ironic wink, including spoken word and whistling sections, yet somehow stirs genuine feelings of sadness and yearning in moments.
Heart of Night closes with a new electric rendition of Shoulders’ “Rise When the Rooster Crows,” which originally appeared on 2021’s Home on the Rage. A reimagining of a 1920s song that was itself derived from 1800s folk tunes, it’s an ode to missing the pleasures of country living (“If you go west, don’t go for long / You’ll live out homesick country songs”) and returning home (“I’m going back south where thе sun shines hot / Oh, down where the river cane grows”). The depth of history behind it lends the song a significance and deeper meaning, but it’s a pleasure to listen to even if you don’t know its backstory.
Short and sweet and thrilling, Heart of Night leaves you wanting more in the best way: more of these artists, more of this kind of creative reimagining of retro sounds, more collaboration and partnership like this in the music industry.
Heart of Night is available digitally as well as in a 10" transparent coke bottle green vinyl 45 format on Bandcamp.
Carol Roth. Photo credit: Dan Lee.
Carol Roth is a full-time marketing copywriter and the primary music journalist and social media publicist for Adventures in Americana. In addition to studying the guitar and songwriting, Carol’s additional creative side hustle is writing self-proclaimed “trashy” novels under the pseudonym T.A. Berkeley!
