Colter Wall prevails his songwriting with tough-times emotion with his latest single, “Corralling the Blues.” Wall sings about depression and its largely unaddressed presence in agricultural communities and individuals with such charm that it's easy to miss just how down-and-out the song’s leading character has become. “I might get to thinking that I might could quit drinking, but then what else is there to do?” sings Wall. Co-produced with Patrick Lyons, “Corralling the Blues” is a song written from experience and played in-studio by Wall’s long-time touring band. Fluttering harmonica melodies and sly dobro fills weave together Wall’s to-the-point, tongue-in-cheek lyrics, with enough jest to make even the most downhearted listener crack a smile. “And it’s this contemplation that spurs conversation with the ceiling that I been talking to.”
“Corralling the Blues” appears on Wall’s upcoming album, Little Songs which is due out on July 14th via Wall’s longtime label La Honda Records and new partner RCA Records. On Little Songs, fans of Wall’s will find the same hardscrabble voice they’ve loved over the years connecting the contemporary world to the values, hardships, and celebrations of rural life. From the titular track he sings, “You might not see a soul for days on them high and lonesome plains. You got to fill the big empty with little songs.” The ten-song LP features eight originals inspired by—and written in—Wall’s home of Battle Creek, Saskatchewan, along with a Hoyt Axton cut, “Evangelina,” and a cover of Ian Tyson’s “The Coyote & The Cowboy.”
Fans can listen to “Corralling The Blues” today at this link, check out Wall’s previously-released Little Songs single “Evangelina,” and pre-order or pre-save Little Songs ahead of its July 14th release right here. Wall is also gearing up for two rare live appearances at Denver’s Dusty Boots festival on July 1st and Montana’s Under The Big Sky on July 14th. For more information or to buy tickets, please visit colterwall.com.
More About Little Songs: With his longtime touring band, Wall returned to Yellowdog Studios in Wimberly, Texas, where he cut his 2020, Billboard-charting album, Western Swing & Waltzes and Other Punchy Songs, to track the ten tunes that make up Little Songs. With co-producer Patrick Lyons, Wall tracked eight original songs and two fan-favorite covers from Ian Tyson and Hoyt Axton. Little Songs is an upbeat, sometimes somber glimpse into the rural work and social life of the Canadian West, and, more so than with previous albums, opens emotional turns as mature and heartening as the resonant baritone voice writing them.
This release of new music follows the recent partnership between Wall’s longtime label La Honda Records and RCA Records, with Little Songs as the first album on the joint venture. Prior to the new album, Wall released two standalone singles—“Cypress Hills and the Big Country” and a cover of Cowboy Jack Clement’s “Let’s All Help the Cowboys (Sing the Blues)”—as well as the 2020 LP Western Swings & Waltzes and Other Punchy Songs and Colter Wall and the Scary Prairie Boys’ Live In Front Of Nobody, a 2021 live stream, full-band show turned indie record store, vinyl-only release–a coveted and limited release. Information on both albums can be found at colterwall.com.
Little Songs Tracklist:
Prairie Evening/Sagebrush Waltz
Standing Here
Corralling The Blues
The Coyote & The Cowboy
Honky Tonk Nighthawk
For a Long While
Cow/Calf Blue Yodel
Little Songs
Evangelina
The Last Loving Words
More About Colter Wall: Colter Wall and his music are from the prairies of southern Saskatchewan, where he lives and works. He is a La Honda Records/RCA Records recording artist and has appeared abroad, including Austin City Limits and most recently at the Ponoka Stampede.
