Past Meets Future
Being among the first to discover new music could be considered the ultimate music high. Such is the case with Goodnight, Texas and their album A Long Life of Living. As with any good album, a great story only heightens the musical experience.
Formed in 2010, San Francisco’s Avi Vinocur and North Carolina’s Patrick Dyer Wolf decided on the geographical middle point of Goodnight, TX as the identity of their turn-of-the-century folky Americana collaboration. After a meeting in San Francisco, the duo paired dusty and defiled ballads with raw pain and beauty. Along with bassist Jonathan Kirchner and drummer Andrew Laubacher, Goodnight, Texas brings twelve songs to an impressive debut.
“I’m Going To Work On Maggie’s Farm Forever” slowly eases you into A Long Life of Living with sharp acoustic guitars and twangy harmonies that are blended beautifully. “Submarines” is rustic and raw, bringing you right on the backwoods front porch, while the mandolin is the star of the show in “Jesse Got Trapped In A Coal Mine,” making the song a clear folk highlight of the album, and a lead single. “Old St. John” is the most memorable and tortured of songs: the tale of a man abandoning his children, and yet undecided if this is based on fact or fiction. Each song throughout the entire album, as distinct and genuine as they are, blends harmoniously into the next, each in agreement about where the previous one left off.
Goodnight, Texas is locked in the early nineteenth century, and A Long Life of Living pulls you right into the heart of the timeless stories they tell. The duo may be musically inspired by the past, but Goodnight, Texas are creating something truly ahead of their time.
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