As this single and the album that it is acting as a teaser and tester for landed on my desk simultaneously, the logical thing to do was to review the single first. After all, the job of the 7″ record (yes, I know, I’m old) is to generate enough interest to make you want to buy the album, a sort of PR product, as well as being a song in its own right.
I am already going to be interested in a band named after a song that was a duet between Jesse Malin and Bruce Springsteen, and the reference point is well chosen. As the previous album, Twerk & Twang, clearly proved, Broken Radio are no slouches when it comes to navigating and adding to the alt-country landscape, and Tomorrow’s Gone is undoubtedly no exception.
Blending the old-school country vibes of Johnny Cash and the more Southern Gothic vibe of more recent artists such as Nero Kane or Amigo The Devil, Tomorrow’s Gone is both a ghostly voice from the past and a poignant signpost for the modern age.
Spacious and haunting musically, vocals wandering between whiskey-soaked singing and world-weary spoken word, you can almost hear the Chinook wind pushing skittering tumbleweeds through the song, wrapping it in both unexpected warmth but leaving a feeling of desolation and unease in its wake.
As I said at the outset, a single that comes ahead of a proposed album is more than just a song; it has a role to play and maybe the main reason whether you buy the forthcoming long player or not. All I can say is this. Without a copy kicking around in my inbox as we speak, I would be on its case without hesitation.
A great song and an influential one as well.
