New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Nashville-based, Texas-born Americana artist K Phillips is set to release his latest album, Dirty Wonder, via Rock Ridge
Music on March 10, 2017. Produced by award-winning songwriter Gordy Quist of The Band of Heathens and featuring a vocal cameo from Adam Duritz from Counting Crows, Dirty Wonder is a breakup record that's part autobiographical, part imagined, and part observational, chronicling a third-party breakup K witnessed firsthand. It's a redemptive album, brimming with clever allusions, pent-up sexual tension, and loveable roguish characters. The impactfully concise songs on Dirty Wonder are complimented by teardrop pedal steel guitar, rollicking blues piano, fuzzed out guitars, and gospel girl group vocals.
Writing and living through Dirty Wonder has been a profound process for K, and he hopes that his songs have an impact upon those who hear them. "While I am here, I want to connect through writing stories that help people get through whatever they're going through," he says.
The album's leadoff single, "Hadrian," featuring vocals from Adam Duritz, uses the story of the Roman Emperor Hadrian as an allegory. Here, the character is mired in an unraveling relationship and loses track of his better self. The swaggering "18 Year Old Girls" snapshots the more comical elements of finding your footing after a breakup. "In that song, the guy is talking to a girl much younger than he is, and he realizes they have nothing to talk about," says Phillips. "It's embarrassing." The crunchy backwater shuffle, title track "Dirty Wonder," replete with barrelhouse piano, oozes temptation. It's the struggle of being in something that you want to have last forever but experiencing a little jolt of "what's behind door number two" impulsivity. The stately "Rom Com" channels that beloved cinematic convention (romantic comedy) into a song, complete with the "meet cute." The song functions on many layers—it's a wry commentary on pop love.
K Phillips' life has been like a country song. Born in West
Texas and raised by his grandparents in the Concho Valley, K's grandfather was both a cattle rancher and a criminal court judge. His mother was a radio disc jockey who named her only son after her favorite Texan, Kris Kristofferson. K began playing guitar at age 5 and began writing songs at 6. At age 18, he lost both his best friend and his girlfriend in two separate drowning instances. In the wake of these tragedies, creating music understandably took on a deeper resonance. It became how he processed life and heartache.
K's first release, American Girls, garnered accolades from the likes of No Depression, Buffalo News, and Daytrotter for its blend of the literate and the lowdown. Many of these publications spotlighted a mythical essence about K, remarking about his mainstay Stetson hat, his chiseled Hank Williams-esque good looks, and a character quality that's both vulnerable and reckless. AXS.com wrote: "Phillips has a soulful and evocative voice that brings his songs to vivid life, and a musical style that encompasses country, rock, R&B and a lot more, all delivered in a manner that lends believability to his storytelling." The Allentown Morning Call praised Phillips' "very Dylanesque blast of bluesy country."
Phillips plans to tour in support of Dirty Wonder.
www.kphillipsmusic.com
