What is “roots pop” music? San Francisco progressive bluegrass quintet Front Country has been rapidly gaining fans as they explore that query with their unique, string-driven sound. As anticipation builds for the release of their new album Other Love Songs on April 7th, Live For Live Music is proud to premiere the upcoming LP’s newest single, “I Don’t Wanna Die Angry,” a stripped-down string-pop lament driven by singer/songwriter Melody Walker‘s attention-grabbing vocals:
The punchy bluegrass-tinged pop track explores the frivolity of a lovers’ quarrel, and the fear that, given the fragile nature of life, any silly argument could end up being your last. Says singer/songwriter Melody Walker, “This is probably the most straight ahead pop song on the whole record. It sort of makes fun of the ridiculous ways our emotions affect our thinking. How, even if you’re in a solid and loving relationship, you can sometimes get insecure and think that one little fight could be the end of it all. The chorus is simple: it’s the raw and honest reason anyone ever decides to put down their pride and kiss and make up, because holding a grudge until the grave just isn’t practical or any fun.”
Other Love Songs is Front Country’s Roots Pop opus, and promises to be the band’s most intensely creative and original project to date. The songs are emotional in nature and examine love with a self-aware twist. This is also the group’s first record comprised predominantly of lead singer Melody Walker’s songwriting, with 8 of the 12 tracks penned by the vocalist. Mandolinist Adam Roszkiewicz also contributed two songs to the album, a pair of sophisticated instrumentals. With the winning combination of Walker and Roszkierwicz’s songwriting, the creative band arrangement style of guitarist Jacob Groopman, and the skilled musicianship and harmonizing of bassist Jeremy Darrow and five-string violinist Leif Karlstrom, the synergy on the album is electric.
“These songs follow the lessons that everyone learns in their own personal evolution toward emotional maturity and vulnerability,” says Walker, “in which all of us learn to break down toxic romantic fairy tales and write our own Other Love Songs that work for real people in the real world.”
You can pre-order Other Love Songs today here, or purchase the album when it is released on April 7th. For more information on Front Country, their new album, upcoming tour dates and more, head to the band’s website.