Photo: Matthew Jones
Southeast Michigan-based country rock outfit Loose Koozies make thrillingly unfussy music. Pedal steel guitarist Pete Ballard has a hypnotically languid style, lead guitarist Andrew "Mad Dog" Moran [Ed. Note: Hell yeah] is as comfortable lounging at the back of the mix as he is giddily bursting into solos, and bassist Erin Davis and drummer Nick German seemingly have the sort of implicit connection that underpins most great rock bands. Out in front is vocalist and guitarist E.M. Allen, who sings about heartbreak and hangovers with a wit that deflects corniness. Their debut album, Feel A Bit Free — out March 27 via Outer Limits Lounge Records — is one of the most replayable country records I've heard in a while.
The first single from the record is "Hills," a meandering song about "rolling joints in the rolling hills," "bit[ing] off more than [you] can chew," and fishing. Or, as Allen put it in an email to The FADER:
So much of this album is about the search to find yourself and the places where it takes you. "Hills" really encapsulates that. I wrote it after playing this trippy festival up in the Catskills, getting a little too out there, and kind of losing it when I saw these skeletons video-projected onto the pine trees. I eventually found myself fishing with a father and son from Long Island along a river. The son fixed the broken line on my pole for me and I caught a fish on my next cast. All's well that ends well.
Listen to "Hills" below. You can pre-order Feel A Bit Free by clicking through to Loose Koozies' Bandcamp page.
Loose Koozies - Feel A Bit Free
1. Easy When You Know How
2. Forget To Think
3. Marita
4.Rollin' Heavy
5. Lotsa Roads
6. Sugar Notch, PA
7. Slow Down Time
8. Hazel Park Race Track
9. Hills
10. Something To Show
11. Last Year