Fridays are my favourite! Sure, it’s the kickoff to the weekend – but it’s also the flood of new music that comes our way! Allow me to introduce you to Stray Owls, a North Carolina-based three-piece that has just unleashed their third album ‘When the Going Gets Weird’. Four years in the making, the twelve-track offering is a sonically rich collection of eclectic tunes I’ve essentially had on repeat since I woke up. Let’s dive in shall we?
A psychedelic and electrifying jangle titled ‘Hey Now Now’ gets the ball rolling, before the more laidback (though still gritty) sounds of ‘Daylight’ come into play. ‘Moonlight Shadows’ is a six-minute epic, described by the band as “a nod to the rural weirdo-folk of earlier albums,” while ‘Knot Exactly’ is a short interlude that allows the listener to stop and take a much-deserved breath.
‘Whatever Afterglow’ is an atmospheric, post-rock voyage that keeps you on your toes, and ‘Another Lost Mind’ brings back more of those psychedelic and experimental layers that are just irresistible.
Speaking about the record’s creation, band member Matt French says “It was kind of like putting together a puzzle for three years, but we didn’t have a photo on a box to reference. Everything that stuck to the wall is somehow cohesive…And that’s the album”.
Serious tune alert! Enjoy ‘When the Going Gets Weird’ on Spotify now:
