The Ethel Cain-co-signed, self-proclaimed “West Texas dirtgaze” band Shallowater won us over with their debut LP There Is A Well and their set at our SXSW showcase earlier this year, and we’re now excited to learn that their second album, God’s Gonna Give You A Million Dollars, is coming on September 5. The album was produced by Alex Farrar, who frequently works with Wednesday, MJ Lenderman, and others within the whole new indie-country thing, and it features a collaboration on the song “All My Love” with fellow West Texas musician Hayden Pedigo, who’s fresh off releasing his own acclaimed new album.
The first single is “Highway,” and it’s a nearly-six-minute trek through climactic slowcore, twangy slide guitar, and an explosive wall-of-sound grunge coda that shares DNA with anything from Codeine to Songs: Ohia to MJ Lenderman the Dinosaur Jr. It’s a very substantial track, and I highly recommend giving it a listen below. Speaking about it, bassist Tristan Kelly tells us:
The hook on “Highway” is just a roundabout way of saying I wish I never met you. Like encountering someone going the other way on a two-lane highway at night. Something that demands respect and attention, but at most lasts 5-10 seconds. It’s also reminiscing about West Texas and being homesick. The lyric “Where the flowers grow brittle” comes from the extreme climate there, where flowers that freshly bloom can be frozen in a day from the cold or wilting from the heat, and I loved the imagery of a bouquet of frozen flowers. It almost seems like they grow like that.
Shallowater are also playing weekend 2 of ACL Fest this year, and they’re currently on tour with Worlds Worst. See the tour poster with all dates below.
Tracklist
God’s Gonna Give You A Million Dollars
Sadie
(Untitled) Cowboy
Highway
Ativan
All My Love