KINGSWOOD’s seventh album Midnight Mavericks is a love-letter to country rock and all things Americana.
The album kicks off with “Two Lovers”, a solid opener that features Steph Greenwood on vocals alongside lead singer Fergus Linacre. The rhythm guitars paired with a slide-guitar riff show off the band’s country-rock style, and sets the scene for the rest of the album which wouldn’t sound out of place being played in a tavern on a pitstop to break up a great American road-trip.
Take the single “Lovin’ A Girl”, sung by lead-guitarist Alex Laska. The lyrics mention being “on the road” and “the feeling I’m never goin’ home”, while the guitar riff plays an echo of the vocal melody. Or “Highway Signs”, literally about being on a road-trip, that strips back the instrumentation to focus on Laska’s vocals and the slide guitar riff throughout.
The Americana sound and the Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers influence is most obvious on “Mary Jane”. The lyrics reference “my foot on the gas”, “late nights alone while I’m on the road”, and “wind from a back porch”, while Linacre and Laska harmonise each other’s vocals over the top of the slide guitar. “Faith” and “Joanie” are both pure country, complete with references to religion, talkin’ to “Mama”, “the American dream”, and “red, white, and blue.” Both songs have rhythms that make you want to pull out a cowboy hat and start boot-scooting.
While Midnight Mavericks features mostly mid-tempo songs, “Jenny” uses fast drumming and shorter vocal phrasing to achieve a quicker, frantic pace, a juxtaposition to the lyrics telling a story of regret about a lost childhood friendship. The instrumentation on “Jenny” layers and builds from an acoustic guitar and vocal for the first few bars until the drums, bass, and electric guitar kick in and stay for the rest of the song. Linacre shows off his vocal range by starting low in the first verse and gradually achieving higher pitches in each chorus. The vocals paired with the layered instrumentation and fast drumming make this song a standout.
The album ends with the single “Last First Kiss”. It achieves a heavier sound than some of the more acoustic songs on the album with electric guitar and bass. Linacre and Laska share the lead vocals and show off the differences in their vocal ranges – Linacre provides some of the higher harmonies and the vocals for the chorus, while Laska sings the verses in a lower register.
KINGSWOOD have achieved exactly what they intended to on Midnight Mavericks; create a country-rock album that showcases their experience on the road and provides an insight into their Americana influences. The production delivered by Laska on this album is excellent, every instrument sings alongside his and Linacre’s vocals. These songs take you on late-night drives, nights out at small country bars, and long, long road-trips with no end in sight.
FOUR AND A HALF STARS (OUT OF FIVE)
The songs from Midnight Mavericks will no doubt sound even better live, so get along to see KINGSWOOD as they tour around Australia in May and June.
Midnight Mavericks is available on streaming platforms. If you prefer physical media, you can buy it on CD or vinyl HERE.
KINGSWOOD – MIDNIGHT MAVERICKS TOUR DATES
Tickets can be found HERE.
Saturday May 23 – Savannah Sounds Festival, Port Douglas, QLD
Thursday May 28 – Lefty’s Music Hall, Brisbane, QLD
Friday May 29 – The Factory Theatre, Sydney, NSW
Saturday May 30 – Full Throttle Ranch, Hunter Valley, NSW
Friday June 19 – Tanks Art Centre, Cairns QLD
Saturday June 20 – Cooktown Discovery Festival, Cooktown QLD
Header image supplied.
