Nashville-based band The Apache Relay are on the eve of releasing their long-awaited sophomore album, set for an April 25th release on Dine Alone Records. Praised for its wall of sound-style production, the writing sessions for this new self-titled album was the first time the group stopped to catch their breath in years. With the release of this record, The Apache Relay have developed a sound that is much a richer and more sophisticated beast than the ‘folk-rock’ label often assigned to them.

Guitarist, keys, and mandolin player  Brett Moore gave us a track by track run down on the making of the album.

Katie Queen Of Tennessee

“The genesis of this song was a piano ballad called “Cops Kid” that reminded me of a Darkness-era Springsteen cut, but when we got out to LA and set foot in Sound City it started to evolve into what you hear now. Thats the spirit of collaboration- everyone in a circle bouncing ideas off of each other all the while being inspired by the vibe of the studio. Jimmie Haskell knocked it out of the park with the beautifully lush string arrangement that frames the song.”

Ruby

“Michael picked up this old Gibson 12 string and the first chords he played are the ones that became this tune. Kevin brought in Alessandro Cortini and he set up a spiderweb of interesting old synths, which Mike Harris ran his lead guitar through to get that crazy fuzz effect. I’m a sucker for a groove and I dig what Kellen and Mike did here with the unison bass/baritone guitar line.”

Terrible Feeling

“This is my personal favourite song on the record. I remember Ben had the idea for the chorus and melody for a long time and he and Michael would always sing it. You hear a lot of our influences coming together here: Gillian Welch & David Rawlings melodic sense meets CSN&Y harmonies foiled by a haunting string arrangement and Mike’s pedal steel inspired part. I love the contrast of a dark lyric with beautiful music.”

Don’t Leave Me Now

“The final song we tracked for the record and probably the one that came together the quickest. We really dig John Lennon’s solo work and are always striving to tip our hats to the great pop music of the 60’s and 70’s, so here’s our homage. Mike’s slide part on the outro is another personal favorite moment on the record.”

Growing Pains

“I think Michael really came into his own as a writer of narratives on this record…he says that he blends fiction and nonfiction and Growing Pains is a great example of that. “Hometown malls make me feel comfortable” is a sentiment that takes me right back to my childhood in the 90’s. Musically this song almost reminds me of something Jeff Buckley might have done had he been from Nashville.”

Good As Gold

“This song went through so many different lives and iterations and went from being on the record to off the record and back probably a dozen times. Michael finally dialed in the lyric to the story we have here and we built the track into something dark and groovy. Ben offered up that straight-out-of-a-Western guitar hook on an old Rickenbacker and that set the tone for the rest of the track.”

Forest For The Trees

“I remember watching Michael hammer this one out in front of one microphone, alone in the cavernous Studio A. Everything you hear on the track was done in a few takes. I love how sparse this song is and yet the few parts and the lovely old echo chamber make it feel so enveloping. And that guitar part is Segovia-level…not sure how to play that part by itself let alone sing at the same time!”

Dose

“I’ve always thought of this song the same way I do about Don’t Leave Me Now…we have many an ethos in the Apache Relay but one of those is to just write great pop music. And great pop music is simple. I came up with that interstitial melody with Kevin sitting behind that old Steinway tack piano and I love what Kellen did with the strings and Mike did with the slide to create this weird wall of sound. Another thing we enjoy is pushing 2″ tape into that lovely point of saturation, as exemplified here by the acoustic, drums, and vocal.”

White Light

“Like Katie, this song started as something much different than what it ended up as. For about a year we referred to it as “Fingerpicking Tune,” as it was a folkier number centered around a guitar pattern and harmonies. We kept the harmonies, Kellen transferred the guitar pattern to harpsichord, added a pulsing rhythm section, and started playing it about twice as fast.”

Valley of the Fevers

“One of the most special things about making this record was having the chance to work with string arranger extraordinaire Jimmie Haskell. He brings a level of musicianship that can only be attained by putting in the hours on so many great tunes over the years. No one writes like Jimmie anymore…you can hear it on this tune in particular. He really listens to the story of the song and writes parts that help paint the picture.”

Happiest Day of Your Life

“Johnathan Rice was an integral figure in the creation of this record from helping us co-write lyrics to keeping the vibe alive. This is one of his tunes he wasn’t using and let us cover it. I love Michael channeling Roy Orbison here. Simple and heartbreaking way to wrap things up.”

The ApacHe Relay is out Friday 25th April via Dine Alone Records

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