Atomic Junkshot are right at home in the dirty southern backwoods of Peacedale, their down-to-earth sophomore studio album — showcasing today on Tinnitist.
Named for the studio where the gritty, 10-song album was cut, the St. Louis roots-rock band’s album deftly delivers a slate of gritty southern rock, earthy alt-country, hard-driving honky-tonk, blistering blues and good ol’ rock ’n’ roll. Ultimately, Peacedale is an edgy, diverse collection of Midwest-inspired narratives written by Atomic Junkshot’s lead singer and rhythm guitarist, Aaron Perlut.
Perlut’s songwriting is admittedly and unabashedly long and wordy, taking cues from his musical heroes such as Ray Wylie Hubbard, Steve Earle, Tom Petty and Tony Joe White. His lyrical narratives often examine the offbeat, Midwestern slices of Americana that surround the band’s hometown of St. Louis. “We feel like the songs are an embodiment of the communities we live in, the folks we spend time with and the lives we know to be true,” Perlut said. “It’s authentic to who we are.”
Adds producer and mixer Greg D. Griffith (Amy Ray, Rachel Baiman, Butchies), who helmed the albium Peacedale Studios in Bristol, Conn.: “Atomic Junkshot is the bastard love child of early Replacements and Reba McEntire. I love that raw punk element, whether it was intended or not. I was excited to capture that as much as possible and feel like the end-product accomplishes as much.”
Lead single Dirt Roads takes an over-the-top look at Lake Of The Ozarks — flush with images of three-legged-dogs, trash-cluttered front yards, meth shacks and E. Coli-contaminated water. Kankakee dissects the legacy of bordellos in the 1940s and ’50s-era northern Illinois city, while Pretty Girls and Pins focuses on an interstate exit in southern Missouri flush with four churches, a bowling alley and a strip club. At the same time, Perlut works to bring to life true-to-life portraits of people — such as Brother Dave, a biographical song examining former U.S. Marine and Richmond police sniper David Naoroz, or the Skynyrd-tinged Gene the Auctioneer, about a since-deceased man behind a hat Perlut was given.
Peacedale is Atomic Junkshot’s first studio release since 2022’s Gun Show EP (produced by Adam “Lightnin’” Hoskins) and the 2023 live record Live from Luke’s House, produced by Lucas Jack and mastered by Mike Semple. Atomic Junkshot’s lineup — bass guitar player Clay Mudd, percussionist Brian McCary, Markus Everblus on harmonica and lead guitar and Perlut — performed on each of the album’s 10 songs. Grammy-nominated piano player Jimmy Wallace provided organ and piano while Spencer Harris contributed backing vocals.
Check out Peacedale below and visit Atomic Junkshot on their website, Facebook and Twitter.
