Premiere: Conor Lynch Releases New Single & Video For 'Slow Country'

Premiere: Conor Lynch Releases New Single & Video For 'Slow Country'

Lynch's new album, Slow Country, will be released on March 29 via Devil Town Tapes

February 28, 2024

By Caleb Campbell

Photo by Will Spurrier

Today, Michigan solo artist Conor Lynch releases his second single, “Slow Country,” the title track from his upcoming album, out March 29th on Devil Town Tapes. The album is also available for pre-order today via Bandcamp and will be available via streaming services on release day. The album's previous single, “Hill”, was released in September of last year. Slow Country is Lynch's fourth album to date and his third to be released physically through Devil Town. Previous albums include 2017 Lameboyof 2019 People don't think they are the way they are, but they do and they don'tand 2021 Imitation.

Lynch's previous releases were mostly composed and performed by himself. The more popular Slow Country finds nearly ten other musicians collaborating with Lynch, though the self-titled single is one of the few tracks where Lynch goes it alone, accompanying himself on acoustic guitar, as well as some piano and banjo. “The phrase 'slow country' to me is a metaphor for what peace and quiet is to the listener. Everyone has those places, people, or feelings they go to that make time feel like it's stopped or slowed down,” shares Lynch.

Although born in Rochester, New York, Lynch moved to the more rural town of Traverse City, Michigan at a young age. Today, Lynch lives and works in Detroit, a city with deep musical roots primarily associated with R&B and no-holds-barred rock 'n' roll. So Lynch's more populist tendencies have already put him out of place in this urban landscape. “The guitar music scene here is definitely dominated by garage rock bands. A lot of great bands, but not a lot of folk-rock,” says Lynch. “I was always around water growing up – lakes, rivers, forests and all. I don't claim to be a country boy, but my dad was always a country music fan and his records were a huge influence on me.”

Coincidentally, Lynch met Ryan McDonald through his “day job” at the historic St. Andrew's Hall, Detroit. With McDonald being a graduate of the University of Michigan's audio engineering program, Lynch was more than happy to entrust him with the technical aspects of the recording. McDonald also plays various instruments on the album, including steel and saxophone. “I knew I needed a lot of different instrumentalists on this album because for some of the songs I wanted the horn section to sound like The Band has. I just needed to find people to play with, so luckily both Ryan and I had some friends to help pull it all off. Kaysen Chown, who plays violin throughout Slow Countryhe was integral to the sound of the album and knew exactly what I was looking for in the string arrangements,” Lynch explains.

To accompany today's release, Lynch also shared the Will Spurrier-directed video for “Slow Country.” Shot in slow-motion drone footage, the video embodies exactly what Lynch described above. The shot opens with Lynch sitting under a tree in what seems to fit his definition of a quiet place. As the camera pulls back, we see a pile of discarded lumber and an old tire, common finds in any rural landscape. What one might not see though is that Lynch is actually sitting in the middle of Detroit's abandoned Fisher Body Plant site. Not at the pastoral confluence of two forest streams, but at the junction of I-75 and I-94 downtown. A displaced people finding a place to settle among the city's hottest musical acts and literally a place of refuge where no one seemed ready.

Slow Country track list:

1. Whispering

2. Hill

3. Cocaine

4. Creator

5. Steam whistle

6. Everything is beautiful

7. Long ways from home

8. Tworailsmeet

9. Left Behind

10. Bank 2 Bank

11. There is a Road

12. Argi Chora