ARTIST: The Apache Relay
TITLE: American Nomad
YEAR RELEASED: 2011
CHART ACTION: None
SINGLES: None
OTHER SONGS YOU MAY KNOW: Only if you paid attention to Nashville indie rock.
LINEUP: Michael Ford, Jr., Mike Harris, Brett Moore, Steve Smith, Kellen Wenrich, Ben Ford
WHAT’S IT ALL ABOUT: Rock / folk / alt-country hybrid band releasesa decent album that combines their influences and strengths without focusing on one genre too much.
SOME WORDS, PHRASES AND CLAUSES ABOUT THIS RECORD: Michael Ford, Jr is the leading voice and songwriter of the Apache Relay, and their instrumentation may lead you to believe that they’re strongly in the alt-country realm, but they’re not.
Ford’s songs don’t lend themselves to one type of genre or another, which is a plus. They’re definitely in the singer/songwriter/Americana mode, but they can be grandiose, or simple. The band works well together to augment the songs.
Their cover of the Springsteen song “State Trooper” is a definite highlight and again, it’s not a straight reading, or a genre exercise. In this, and the other songs, all of the elements work together to make it an enjoyable listen.
NOTES & MINUTIAE: They met at Belmont University in Nasvhille.
IS THERE A DELUXE VERSION: No
GRADE: A-: Darn good indie-rock music