LEARNING TO LIVE WITH NATCHEZ TRACERS ON THE OTHER SIDE OF A WORLD-CHANGING EVENT

In 2021, Nashville-based psychedelic roots-rockers Natchez Tracers released their third EP with themes that chronicled life during the global pandemic.

Albert Einstein once said that he saw his life in terms of music. The global, Coronavirus pandemic of the past year-and-a-half found tens of thousands of musicians all across the globe idled from consistent live performances and isolated from friends, family and fans. So what do creators who live their lives for music do in such times of distress? They make new, inspired music!

Natchez Tracers third EP Hug You All on the Other Side is a tight, 4-song sonic treatise that captures the topical experiences, mood and perspectives of two veteran Nashville performing songwriters. The collection opens with the dark and jarring Learn To Live. Lewis Stubbs (lead vocals, guitars) holds few punches when speaking about life in America under the specter of a disjointed and aggressive Presidential regime. Of the lyrics, Stubbs says “I was inspired by the political climate of course and specifically that many would give the President a pass suggesting that he didn’t mean the things he would say.” Stubbs adds that the choruses are meant to be a calling card and on offering of unity and rectification. “It’s just the thought of how death is coming for us all and if we don’t realize our oneness, we’re missing that opportunity to live life to its fullest.” Musically, Learn To Live is the most muscular offering on the EP, tipping its hat to equal parts Crazy Horse-era Neil Young and Widespread Panic’s heavier proclivities.

The title track Hug You All on the Other Side is a catch-all for life as a Nashvillian during Coronavirus. The funky, mid-tempo jaunt conjures up 1970’s country funk vibes, while Josh Womack (lead vocals, guitars) masquerades with a not-so-subtle Jerry Reed vocal delivery. With word plays and rapid-fire punctuation, Womack covers the literal particulars of the timeline, but delves into the different behaviors and interpersonal struggles both shared and individualized. The Nashville tornado, “survivor’s guilt” of both the vocational kind and literal kind, social media commentary, the politics of a pandemic, and even making love, posting memes and getting stoned…it’s all in there and more. Written very early in the pandemic, Womack seems to prophesize not only the challenges we would face during the pandemic, but the things we might most need after it subsides. We’re reminded that this too shall pass as the Persian poet Rumi promised and that the hugs will be most welcomed once this period is over. Lewis (electric guitar) and Josh (acoustic guitar) add solos throughout the song showcasing their distinctive styles. The rhythm section holds it all down and brings the songs to an almost party-anthem plateau. The band uses the acronym HYAOTOS for the EP. Is it by coincidence or design that the acronym sounds like the word “hiatus” when spoken? Hmmm…

With Falling Apart, we’re introduced to a lead-off, major key mandolin (Womack) lick. The tone seems to shift even more upliftingly, showcasing the more Americana, Southern jangle side of the Natchez Tracers’ sound. Womack (lead vocals, guitars, mandolin) says “ Lyrically, I really didn’t know what this song was about when it was first coming together.” He adds “I liked the simple melody and I think I just was channeling the general sentiment of how many of us were feeling.” Falling Apart, Womack concedes was the toughest of the songs on HYAOTOS for him to click into. “When we were cutting it, I was just having trouble finding my mojo. But really, when Lewis laid down a quintessentially Lewis solo at the end, it all kinda exploded in front of me.” Womack goes further explaining “I was like, my God, this song is about me living in that small town for years and feeling like I was constantly butting heads and up against adversity at every turn. Just a few months before we recorded HYAOTOS, I had just moved from an affluent, homogenous suburb of Nashville back to the city and I think this was a cathartic release. I think many people who don’t fit in with the pack in small towns can relate.” Falling Apart fills the third song slot brightly as a feel-good ditty complete with a message of liberation and the retro “Nashville-trick” of a modulation for the outro.

The epic 7-minute plus closer, New Freedom Summer, is arguably the anthem of the EP and is the focus single (well, the radio edit version is at least). Stubbs shows up again on lead vocals, dropping an unexpected falsetto that sets the groove with a luscious flavor. Inspired by the George Floyd protests of the summer of 2020 and more specifically, the Nathan Bedford Forrest bust protestors in Nashville at the state capitol, New Freedom Summer makes a direct line back to the Norman Whitfield produced, socially- conscious psychedelic soul recordings of the early 1970s. Stubbs states that with this one the band wanted to show where they stood. “I was thinking from this place of revolution and the fact that standing by and waiting for justice just wasn’t working and if justice wasn’t coming, it was going to be taken.” Stubbs goes further and more directly “Many Americans have been and will remain blind to the truths of those injustices and unless they are willing to see from a perspective of the oppressed, nothing would change.” Womack adds “Both Lewis and I attended many rallies during the summer of 2020. Sometimes even with our families. We wanted to be clear that we are open allies for oppressed people of every stripe and particularly those for whom the American promise of equity has failed or worse, been purposefully engineered to evade.” The extended outro is an improvisational excursion whose heart mimics the ebb and flow of energy of a protest rally while showcasing a gang vocal group chant that capture the spirit of free speech and a call for justice. Whether one thinks Stubbs and Womack are on point, the infectious nature of melody and presentation should put New Freedom Summer at the top of all playlists for any summer.