Get Drayton Farley on Your Radar Ahead of “Twenty On High”
If you can’t get enough of that country/rock/roots sound emanating from Alabama and underpinning excellently written songs that cut straight to the heart, you have little to no excuse to not sift Drayton Farley and his upcoming album Twenty On High to the very top of your 2023 depth chart. To be released on March 3rd via Hargrove Records in conjunction with Thirty Tigers, this highly anticipated debut album has been a long time coming for many devoted fans.
His first full band studio album still may still be weeks away, but Drayton has already been making a big impact with a couple of lo-fi, acoustic-only releases in the form of 2021’s A Hard up Life and 2022’s Walk Home EP. It was patently clear then that Drayon had something worth paying attention to, even if the lack of production kept the music from reaching a wider audience.
All of that changes with Twenty On High, as producer Sadler Vaden of Jason Isbell’s 400 Unit employs his fellow 400 Unit members Chad Gamble (drums) and Jimbo Hart (bass), as well as pianist Peter Levin and violinist Kristin Weber to bring Drayton Farley’s songs to life. Waxahatchee’s Katie Crutchfield also appears on a song. Matt Ross-Spang also worked on the project as an engineer.
“We recorded ‘Twenty on High’ over the course of five days last summer at Sound Emporium Studios in Nashville, TN,” Drayton says. “It’s pretty well known by now that all of my releases to this point have been strictly acoustic solo performances and to be honest, they’ve mostly been demo style recordings that I made at home.”
“My new album will serve as my breakout record and I believe these ten new songs to be my absolute best work yet. The goal was to keep the songs honest and true and their stories at the forefront. To have the music serve the song but still make a record that would stand the test of time. I believe that’s exactly what we’ve done here and I couldn’t be prouder.”
Ahead of the new album, Drayton Farley has released the new song “Norfolk Blues,” which has a rugged blue collar theme and that unmistakable 400 Unit sound.
“It was mostly all of you believing in me and my songs, having a lot of great friends in my corner, a very small but mighty team behind me, and a whole lot of hard work… but it’s finally here. I wanted to make this record something I could be proud of forever, I wanted to keep it honest and keep the song at the forefront, to offer the world something true and real. Offer something that could stand the test of time and offer the world some of the better parts of me as a musician and songwriter.
Twenty On High is now available for pre-order.
Tracklist
1. Stop the Clock
2. Norfolk Blues
3. Wasted Youth
4. Above My Head
5. Twenty on High
6. Something Wrong (Inside My Head)
7. Devil’s In NOLA
8. How to Feel Again
9. The Alabama Moon
10. All My Yesterdays Have
January 11, 2023 @ 12:57 pm
What other country/roots/rock acts are coming out of Alabama? Obvious answers like DBT/Jason Isbell
come to mind but not sure I’m aware of any others
January 11, 2023 @ 1:38 pm
Another good example would be Adam Hood’s recent album “Bad Days Better.” That is what I was thinking about when I wrote that line. There’s not a lot of straight country that comes out of Alabama these days. Much of it has that Muscle Shoals rock and blues influence mixed in. Them Dirty Roses would be another good example.
January 12, 2023 @ 4:26 pm
The boys from Muscadine Bloodline hail from Alabama as well, and can shake a room as well as anyone
January 11, 2023 @ 1:45 pm
I’d throw the Red Clay Strays in there, as well as some of Muscadine Bloodline’s stuff.
January 11, 2023 @ 2:24 pm
A couple more good ones. There is definitely a “sound” coming out of Alabama at the moment, no different than Kentucky and Texas.
January 11, 2023 @ 1:49 pm
I’ve seen Farley’s name in a million Twitter threads the past year, but I really couldn’t get into his “lo-fi” style. Hopefully working with Vaden will produce a more natural, approachable sound. “Norfolk Blues” is a step in the right direction.
January 11, 2023 @ 2:23 pm
The reason I’ve waited until this point to talk about him is because you only get one chance to make a good first impression. It wasn’t just that his early stuff was acoustic, but as Drayton says, it was also very demo-feeling. Even then, he earned a lot of fans, but I just didn’t want people to think that was all he was about. I think one of the reasons some people are lukewarm on Zach Bryan is because they heard DeAnn and were like, “Is that it?”
January 11, 2023 @ 3:27 pm
I’ve said “Is that it?” to everything Zach has released.
January 11, 2023 @ 3:46 pm
Holy cow, a friend just texted that Jeff Beck has passed away.
Don’t mean for this to find it’s way on a thread.
Just wanted to tell someone who would understand.
That would be you, Trig.
So glad was able to see him, in October. Have the sweetest picture of him, turned to the band, with the biggest smile on his face.
January 11, 2023 @ 4:19 pm
I dig it. Might be a stretch, but my initial impression was Jonny Burke. I really liked Burke when he used to open for James McMurtry.
January 11, 2023 @ 5:05 pm
At 14 songs and just shy of 41 mins, Id wouldn’t consider A Hard Up Life an EP. Is there something I am missing?
January 11, 2023 @ 5:19 pm
I don’t know that anyone called “A Hard Up Life” an EP, but Drayton is referring to the new album as his debut album, and said of his previous releases, “It’s pretty well known by now that all of my releases to this point have been strictly acoustic solo performances and to be honest, they’ve mostly been demo style recordings that I made at home.”
You can definitely release an acoustic album and have it be considered a legitimate “album,” but the reason I never reviewed those releases is because it did feel like a “demo” approach, despite their popularity.
January 11, 2023 @ 9:35 pm
Looking forward to this! Anyone liking the new Dimestore Cowboys record? New lead singer but sounding solid!
January 13, 2023 @ 4:13 pm
Both the Dimestore Cowboys and Uncle Ben’s Remedy dropped semi-surprise album reight there before the Holidays. Hoping to have time to loop back around and cover them.
January 11, 2023 @ 11:30 pm
Sounds cool, would be fun to jam to. Kind of repetitive at the end but the tones were great and the vibe is right.
January 12, 2023 @ 2:03 am
i like this guy, defintely remind me of early Isbell. But please think twice about that record cover man! Looks like a Blue Oyster Cult greatest hits cd.
January 12, 2023 @ 5:11 pm
This guy is the missing link between early Isbell and early Zach Bryan.
January 12, 2023 @ 6:56 am
Listening to Drayton’s earlier stuff I was kinda surprised by the sound of this initial single. I was expecting something more Country/Americana. This has a Tom Petty type sound to it. Not that that’s a bad thing really, just not what I envisioned. Interested to see if this is the direction of the whole album.
January 12, 2023 @ 7:38 am
The first time I heard a Drayton Farley song come on my Spotify, I was impressed and immediately went to check out his discography. I think he’s a very talented songwriter and love seeing him get a bit of attention here!
January 12, 2023 @ 8:35 am
Hey, a guy who can actually sing, and has a decent voice! The above comment about Tom Petty is on point. I dig it!
January 13, 2023 @ 7:47 am
Norfolk Blues showed up on my Spotify new music suggestions today. Sounds pretty good, similar to Justin Wells.
January 13, 2023 @ 8:53 am
Been listening to him for about a year. Love “Blue Collar” and I’m also digging this new single. I got to see him live here in Lexington a couple months ago and he’s great in person.
January 25, 2023 @ 12:49 pm
I heard it on my suggestions too…there were a few times when I thought “Is that Isbell?” It’s pretty close, so makes sense that Sadler and Jimbo were involved. Good stuff.
March 3, 2023 @ 2:53 pm
I had no idea this was produced by Sadler Vaden. I did think that the singles sounded much like Isbell songs. This is all starting to make sense. I really liked that last ep which had a different sound. But I guess everyone goes big and starts involving too many instruments.