New York, NY (Top40 Charts) The Kernal is best known for a distinctive brand of songwriting that's "sweetly subversive, intellectual and addictive" (Rolling Stone) all at once, but if there's a second thing the Jackson, Tennessee native is best known for it's perhaps his signature red polyester suit. Once a prized possession of his late father, a Grand Ole Opry musician for thirty years, the inclusion of the suit in The Kernal's nightly wardrobe is a way of sorts to carry on his legacy while also "ironing out some demons," as he puts it, in an attempt to posthumously tie up their loose ends. After two albums and nearly a decade on the road, The Kernal's upcoming Listen To The Blood (January 14 / Single Lock Records) works to find closure from those family burdens - fittingly featuring the red suit in the midst of a murder scene on the album's cover along along with a real-life plan to bury it in an Iowa cornfield later this year "to mark the end of my relationship with these past matters." Fusing a storyteller's eye reminiscent of Tom T. Hall and Roger Miller with raucous energy poised to get an entire late-night bar or day-time barbecue on their feet, Listen To The Blood is the sound of The Kernal finally coming to terms with the past in order to embark on his next chapter.
Pre-order / Listen To The Blood here: https://link.singlelock.com/kernal
Recorded live to tape in Muscle Shoals with his longtime production partner Ben Tanner of the Alabama Shakes, Listen To The Blood touches on mid-life crises, mental health, marriages and marijuana sold by Walmart. The album bottles the cathartic magic of The Kernal's live shows alongside an ace band of Dom Billett (drums), Jerry Bernhardt (bass) and Cotton Clifton (guitar) plus a sparkling duet with Caitlin Rose on the album's "The Fight Song." Never one for self-seriousness, Listen To The Blood finds The Kernal balancing the conclusion of his trilogy exploring the complexities of the father-son dynamic by embracing the idea of music as just a damn good time: "I just love seeing people have a good time, and I think that's why I like country music," he concludes. "The groove of it. It speaks to people's legs. They loosen up and enjoy themselves and it's no big deal. I love that. And I love to be able to contribute to that."
Listen To The Blood Tracklist:
U Do U
Pistol In The Pillow
Green, Green Sky
Wrong Turn To Tupelo
The Limit
Long, Cool Finger
The Fight Song (feat. Caitlin Rose)
She's Seeing Somebody
Super (Marijuana) Walmart.
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