Grammy nominated duo The Milk Carton Kids are debuting the new track “North Country Ride” off their forthcoming record I Only See The Moon, due May 19 via Far Cry Records in partnership with Thirty Tigers. Stream/share the song HERE and pre-order/pre-save the album HERE.
Band member Kenneth Pattengale explains, “My wife’s Uncle Peter died in November, 2021. He was a beautiful guy. The funniest person in the room and—more than anyone else I have ever met—genuinely interested in other people’s creativity. Pure joy, and tenacious; he gave us many laughs and many tears. I wrote “North Country Ride” for Peter. Joey helped me finish it, and provides singular rhythm and harmony on our studio rendering here and whilst on stage (Thanks, Joey). Love you Unky, see ya in the stars.”
The group recently debuted the album tracks “All Of The Time In The World To Kill,” “When You’re Gone,” “Running on Sweet Smile” and “Star Shine,” their first new music since their acclaimed 2019 album The Only Ones. American Songwriter hails “Running On Sweet Smile” as a “thoughtful, acoustic guitar-driven song,” while praising the “blissful harmonies” of “When You’re Gone.” The Boot calls “When You’re Gone” “an earnest tale of a memory that refuses to leave while longing for days that have passed,” and The Bluegrass Situation notes that “Running On Sweet Smile” is “direct in its lyrics, yet winding and exploratory in arrangement, highlighting the many strengths of the folk duo.”
“Both of us have now lived enough life to understand that maybe one of the purposes we were put on Earth for is to sing together, to write songs together, to make music together,” notes Pattengale. “It has truly provided a direction for our lives.” Guitarist/vocalist Joey Ryan adds, “It’s like a successful marriage in that there’s always been enough there between us collaboratively in the way that we work together, sing together, play together. It’s a very special thing. And I don’t think we ever took that for granted.”
Founded in 2011, The Milk Carton Kids swiftly emerged as a major force in the American folk tradition, blending ethereal harmonies and intricate musicianship with a uniquely powerful brand of contemporary songcraft. 2013’s ANTI- debut The Ash & Clay proved their national breakthrough, earning The Milk Carton Kids their first Grammy Award nomination for Best Folk Album. A second Grammy nomination for Best American Roots Performance followed in 2015 for the track “The City of Our Lady” from band’s acclaimed third studio album, Monterey, and 2018’s All The Things That I Did And All The Things That I Didn’t Do was nominated for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical.
The band’s most recent album, 2019’s The Only Ones (out now via Far Cry Records in partnership with Thirty Tigers), was the subject of extensive praise, with Rolling Stone proclaiming that “Kenneth Pattengale and Joey Ryan get back to the beautiful basics with The Only Ones,” while NPR’s “World Café” noted that “even though Joey and Kenneth are not related, their voices together create a sibling-like harmony...the duo has a strong sense of respect and reverence for the musical traditions that they've grown from.”
TRACK LIST
I ONLY SEE THE MOON
1. All Of The Time In The World To Kill
2. Star Shine
3. When You’re Gone
4. Wheels And Levers
5. I Only See The Moon
6. Running On Sweet Smile
7. One True Love
8. Body & Soul
9. North Country Ride
10. Will You Remember Me
