J. Killen Releases New Single COLD WINDS Ahead Of DEPRESSION DOLLARS Album
The Austin-based artist recorded the album with producers Raymond Richards and Luke Messimer.
Austin-based Americana artist J. Killen has released his new single 'Cold Winds' ahead of his upcoming album 'Depression Dollars.' The single is available to stream on Bandcamp and Spotify.
J. Killen drank and drugged himself out of a promising music career, alienating many musicians along the way. He then relocated to Austin, Texas from LA which was just like adding gasoline to a fire. J. Killen's narrative seemed to point to one of two outcomes: death or oblivion.
Thankfully, his life did not veer down either of these broken dream avenues. Today, a clear-headed J. Killen is touring, working with old friends, and releasing solo music at a furious pace. His latest, the stark and somber sophomore solo album, Depression Dollars, will be his second record to be released in less than a year.
'I have this idea of legacy. I don't have a wife or kids, so I want to put out as many records as I can before I leave this world,' J. Killen explains. He continues: 'This is a record of love, loss, and depression. I came to a point where I needed music to process some emotions. It's not the most fun of topics, but there is hope woven in. I really cracked the door with how I feel on this one.'
J. Killen's songwriting pulls from the classic country and the alt-country boom of the late 1990s/early 2000s, mixing traditional sounds such as teardrop pedal steel, folksy acoustic guitars, and a sparse rhythm section with personal lyrics set in modern times. Previously, he released the barnburner of a debut album, Goin' It Alone.
The muddy waters of American music course through J. Killen's veins. His dad played in a country band and he was raised on Hank Williams, Bob Wills, vintage Gretsch and Fender guitars. In this environment, J. Killen stumbled into the blues as a budding musician but soon found his way back to country.
Depression Dollars is a focused record with a very intentional sonic palette of either acoustic or electric guitar, bass, drums, pedal steel, keys, and fiddle. It was thoughtfully orchestrated to be performed live. The album was recorded during a gloomy Portland, Oregon winter at Red Rockets Glare studios, and it was produced by Raymond Richards and Luke Messimer. There is sort of a comfort in the bleakness on the album, conjuring the bittersweet intimacy of records such as Son Volt's Trace, Ryan Adams & the Cardinals' Cold Roses, and Wilco's Being There.
'During the recording, I was staying in a basement apartment. The skies were grey, it was so wet and cold, and I had no TV in my little place. The batch of songs we were recording were filled with mood. Raymond and Luke were quieter and it felt darker,' J. Killen recalls.
A sweet sadness blows in on the single, Cold Winds. The song's laid-back mid-tempo and carefully-curated orchestration lend it an earthy elegance. Each instrument is in its right place, replete with back porch acoustic guitars, the crying lyrical lines of the pedal steel, a prairie banjo off in the distance, and nuanced bass and drums interplay. J. Killen's lyrics here exude a burnished wisdom. He sings: The broken road behind me/Taught me everything I know/It's a lonesome feeling/I take it everywhere I go/Done my share of looking/I searched high and low/Troubles will find you, like the cold winds blow.
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