THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “From Montgomery’s river region, up through West Alabama and over to Birmingham, a brief stint in Tennessee and tumbling back over Red Mountain to settle in East Birmingham. You could describe Will Stewart’s sound as “Central Alabama Music.” A little south of Nashville, some might say.
Stewart’s new full-length Slow Life is a collection of songs that capture his unique blend of varied styles and interpretations. In our current rapid fire consumer culture of “brands” and “influencers,” Slow Life invites people to take a seat and relax for a while. While past releases County Seat (2018) and Way Gone (2020) drew from a more internal and reflective mood, Slow Life approaches the music in a more immediate and whimsical spirit.
The lead track Bad Memory is a mid-tempo road song inviting the listener to roll down the windows and take the scenic route. A meditation on the wish to have the ability to summon up a bad memory in order to achieve a more peaceful state — wouldn’t that be nice?
Nothing’s Right is a stumbling tongue in cheek lament on how everything falls apart when “baby” is feeling blue. New World Daydream is a power pop jangler that spins a cautionary tale of being easily turned into a corporate zombie of Western culture. “Here you walk around / as if you’re already dead / money, God and pills / won’t ever fix what’s in your head.”
Armed with his core band, Ross Parker (bass) Tyler McGuire (drums) Janet Simpson (vocals) and help from Daniel Raine (keys), Stewart churns through 10 songs of guitar driven folk rock. Recorded in the heart of east Birmingham and engineered by Brad Timko, it’s a sound that is uniquely Central Alabama.”
