The Americans Release 'Stand True' LP on Wave of Praise
Above: ‘Stand True’ Album Cover Art
THE AMERICANS
RELEASE SOPHOMORE LP
STAND TRUE
TODAY VIA LOOSE MUSIC ON AN EARLY WAVE OF PRAISE
PERFORMANCE VIDEO FOR “GIVE WAY” OUT TODAY
“The sweet spot between Springsteen and The White Stripes.”
--UNCUT MAGAZINE, March 2022
NASHVILLE, TN (May 6, 2022) — Acclaimed Los Angeles-based Americana band The Americans have released their sophomore full-length album, Stand True, today via Loose Music. Every few years, musicians arrive on the scene with an undeniably fresh approach to a tried-and-true genre. Showcasing this with unparalleled proficiency is The Americans, “the sweet spot between Springsteen and The White Stripes,” as declared by UNCUT Magazine (March 2022).
Upon hearing Stand True, it’s evident why revered producer T Bone Burnett raved, calling the band, “genius twenty-first century musicians that are reinventing American heritage music for this century. And it sounds even better this century.”
Purchase/Stream Stand True here. Also out today is a performance video — filmed at Big Bad Sound studios in Los Angeles — for the album’s focus track, “Give Way,” which can be watched here.
Following their 2017 debut album, I’ll Be Yours, The Americans took a step back, regained focus, and went into the studio at Big Bad Sound in Los Angeles to carve out an album of material that “is more our own than ever before,” the band confirms.
The title track and album opener, “Stand True,” showcases the group’s riveting grip on storytelling, dynamics and melodic hooks that leave listeners cemented to their speakers. Patrick Ferris (vocals/guitar), Jake Faulkner (bassist) and Zac Sokolow (guitarist) collide to deliver a moving collection that lands somewhere between Bruce Springsteen, John Mellencamp and Nathaniel Rateliff.
The overall touchstone of Stand True, which the band self-produced, is devotion in the face of loss. And with that, the album’s sophomore single, “Born With A Broken Heart,” solidifies that concept as it showcases an edgier side to the band; a gritty ode to the way romantically wounded people sometimes find one another. “Driving home from gigs, Zac would tune into a Navajo AM radio station out of Window Rock, AZ,” recalls Patrick. “Parts of the song came from some of that music. It feels like driving through Los Angeles at night.”
Track listing for Stand True:
“Stand True”
“Born With A Broken Heart”
“Give Way”
“The Day I Let You Down”
“Farewell”
“Guest Of Honor”
“Romeo”
“Sore Bones”
“What I Would Do”
“Orion”
“Here With You”
EARLY PRAISE FOR STAND TRUE:
“The sweet spot between Springsteen and The White Stripes.”
--UNCUT MAGAZINE, March 2022
“The song [‘Stand True’] starts with old-time strings, but by the end The Americans have built into a rolling tide of roots rock…The Americans use a mighty arsenal to bring home their heartland rock epics.”
— Rachel Cholst, The Boot, March 10, 2022
“The Los Angeles-based roots-rockers returned with a new single called ‘Stand True,’ a country-rock bruiser that shows the trio — singer-guitarist Patrick Ferris, bassist Jake Faulkner, and guitarist Zac Sokolow — locking into a soulful, self-assured groove…the song [‘Stand True’] opens with a twangy, folk-leaning setup, but eventually switches gears to something more trenchant. Finally, a wailing guitar crescendo brings the tune into blues-rock revival territory, calling to mind the Black Keys or Brittany Howard.”
— Matt Wallock, Buzzbands.LA, March 10, 2022
“they have a sound that comes right out of the nation’s soul…such a powerful presence in their songs…this is a band that has deep roots and righteous pedigrees.”
— Bill Bentley, Americana Highways, April 1, 2022
“L.A. trio The Americans deliver rapturous new single 'Born with a Broken Heart'… soaring with a big, arena-ready sound, crystalizing the band's upcoming album Stand True.”
— Jonathan Robles, Variance Magazine, April 6, 2022
“The album [Stand True] opens with the title song which kicks off with a country styled finger-picking lope, quickly overtaken by a grandstanding chorus with crashing guitars and swathes of keyboard. … The vocal oscillations of ‘Born With A Broken Heart’ allied to its tidal waves of guitar, make for a stormy emotional voyage which comes across as if Chris Isaak had overdosed on testosterone. … Turning up the dial, ‘Sore Bones’ is indeed a bone rattling noise fest, like Dinosaur Jr ramming into Tom Waits, and there’s a gritty, muddy take on The Band’s frontier narratives on the angst ridden ‘The Day I Let You Down.’”
— Paul Kerr , Americana UK, May 4, 2022
Above: The Americans; credit: Sari Thayer