Old Tom & The Lookouts invite you along when they hit the highway out of Your Town in their freewheeling new single — showcasing today on Tinnitist.
The latest preview of the Boston indie-Americana band’s upcoming album Northeastern, Your Town is an hopeful anthem of freedom, moving on and living for tomorrow. Set to the strains of a bouncy acoustic guitar riff reminiscent of The Kinks’ Victoria, frontman Alex Calabrese keeps his eyes anywhere but on the road as he heads south like a migrating bird in search of better days:
“Got pulled over east of your town
Headed west on 81
The sky looks bigger
The further south you go
Just look up
I remember cutting through the hollers
If you can tell, I’m not from here
Like walls they rose,
Blessed with Appalachian flows
Just look up
Come tomorrow, we’ll be back out on the road again
Coming up, on the shoulder
There’s a sunset unlike anything you will ever see again.”
As Calabrese’s journey continues — and the song bursts open into a full-blown folk-rocker layered with chiming guitars, echoing vocals and lush harmonies — the track serves as a focal point of the album, encapsulating its themes of emotional survival and resilience in a region known for its toughness.
Due Nov, 14, Northeaster is a poignant and unflinching exploration of life in the band’s home turf. Addressing themes of mental health, substance abuse, and complicated relationships shaped by the region’s rugged culture, the album blends the heartfelt storytelling of Zach Bryan with the raw, melancholic energy of Counting Crows.
Northeastern offers a stirring reflection on life’s challenges in this region. “The Northeast is like playing a video game on hard mode,” Calabrese explains. “There’s this culture of struggling silently — people drown their emotions in alcohol or drugs because we’re not talkers. But it’s a cycle that needs to be broken.”
Capturing the essence of the region’s emotional landscape, Northeastern focuses on battles with depression, anxiety, and failed relationships. “It’s a tribute to my partner through our struggles with mental illness and also a begrudging love letter to the Northeast,” says Calabrese. “It’s baffling, and horrifying and awesome all at the same time. It’s just what it is.”
Northeastern marks a stylistic evolution for the band, blending emo-country’s evocative storytelling with Americana’s grounded roots. The group builds on its folk foundations and ability to weave raw emotion into its music to introduce a more rock-oriented, cathartic energy, offering listeners a deeply emotional and authentic experience. Northeastern was recorded with and produced by Joe Dunn, whose work adds to the album’s gritty, Americana-infused sound.
Check out Your Town above, hear more from Old Tom & The Lookouts below, and visit them on their website, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.
