Sean Rowe – The Salesman & The Shark 2xLP (Black)
Track listing:
SIDE A:
1. Bring Back The Night
2. Flying
3. The Lonely Maze
4. Joe’s Cult
SIDE B:
5. Signs
6. The Wall
7. The Ballad of Buttermilk Falls
8. Horses
SIDE C:
9. Old Shoes
10. Downwind
11. Thunderbird
12. Long Way Home
SIDE D:
13. Don’t You Hate The Punks
14. Frozen River
15. Goin’ Down South
Sean Rowe has a baritone of other worldly power and emotional conviction that demands attention. On his extraordinary new album The Salesman and the Shark, out this August 28th via Anti-records, Rowe follows up his critically heralded full length debut Magic with a work that brilliantly re-configures classic sounds in support of his intensely observational lyrics and remarkable and ever evolving vocals.
The Salesman and the Shark was recorded at historic Vox Recording Studios in Los Angeles. It was produced by Woody Jackson, utilizing the very same mixing board used to make timeless classics such as The Rolling Stones Exile On Main Street, T-Rex’s Electric Warrior, The Beach Boy’s Smile and seminal works by Tom Waits, Neil Young and more.
Appropriately, the soulful and evocative sounds on Rowe’s latest are a perfect blend of the warmly familiar and astonishingly new. The songs move effortlessly between a sense of intimacy and a cinematic like sound complete with a nine piece string section. The entire album was recorded live in studio using only real instruments.
As Rowe explains, “The songs on this record are all very different structurally but they have this consistent sound and feel which has to do with where and how they were recorded. Early on we agreed on the aesthetic of the record which was just keeping it as organic and as live as possible. And I think it really gave it that timeless feel.”
Producer Woody Jackson adds, “Sean Rowe is just an amazing singer. When you first hear his voice, you can’t figure out if it’s for real or not. The atmosphere was just really amazing throughout the recording. Everything just came together naturally. My main goal throughout was to just be true to the songs which were phenomenal. His vocals and the melodies were king.”
The album’s dramatic opening track “Bring Back The Night” plays as a heartfelt mission statement, beginning as an intimate country tinged waltz and building in power and scale as Rowe’s vocals are joined by a lush chorus and tapestry of instruments. The record takes a departure with the fuzzed out and percussive “Joe’s Cult” and reaches epic heights on the surging sonic landscape of Rowe’s
