The Lil Smokies’ high-energy acoustic music has evolved into its own distinctive sound. Since their last album, Tornillo (2020), the band returns with two new members, bassist Jean Luc Davis and banjo player, Sam Armstrong-Zickefoose, adding to the core trio of dobro player Andy Dunnigan, lead guitarist the Reverend Matthew Rieger, and fiddler Jake Simpson. To showcase the new sound and augmented quintet lineup, the band has released a brand new album Break of the Tide, available now via Americana Vibes. Break Of The Tide will also mark the final album release of the band's career with 11 new songs to close out their cherished discography. Listen to Break Of The Tide HERE.
Returning to Texas (where they recorded Tornillo), The Lil Smokies cut Break of the Tide at a Dallas-Fort Worth studio with local producer Robert Ellis, the album title representing, according to Andy, “a turning point, a pivot… the old world vs. the new world. It’s like a bug set in amber, an artifact from that period of time. We didn’t drown under the tide.”
“One of the biggest differences between this album and Tornillo is we hadn’t played these songs live before we recorded them,” added Jake. “These tracks really took shape in the studio. For the most part, we used whole takes, rather than overdubs and edits. It’s a vibey record.”
The album finds the band expanding beyond the bluegrass genre with a spacious, airy, contemplative set of “more introspective, nuanced” songs which slow down to reflect the wide-open spaces and natural beauty of the state where they first took shape. The first single, “Montana Flower,” according to Simpson, is a love song to a local girl from Whitefish, comparing her beauty to the geographical marvels of the area, including Big Mountain.
“That’s the imagery that was going through my head when I wrote the song,” acknowledged Jake. “There’s a lot of mystery in Whitefish. It’s an interesting mix of people there from all over the world alongside the locals who have been there forever. Lots of cosmic energy keeping an eye out for my love when I’m not there.”
Another Simpson-penned track, “Keep Me Down” offers the touring musician’s lament of choosing between what you left at home and the call of the road. “It’s a real love-hate relationship,” laughed Jake. “I’ve been doing a lot of therapy on this issue, and I think I’m improving in that area.”
Rev’s “Sycamore Dreams” is “a break-up song about sometimes love alone isn’t enough” to keep a relationship together (“It shines on paper/Torn from the start/Frayed at the seams”). “There are divine forces that are sometimes out of our control,” said Rev. “And sometimes you have to trust and surrender to them.”
“Fire in the Rain” is a Dunnigan-penned folk song that offers a vocal homage to one of his favorite singer/songwriters in James Taylor, evoking his similarly titled “Fire and Rain.”
“My father played his records for me when I was just three years old,” said Andy.
“This is a more pensive, delicate record than we’ve done in the past,” explained Rev. “It’s about being able to turn to art to deal with hardship, the encouragement to know we’re not alone in this. It’s about looking to the future, figuring out a way to move ahead.”
Added Andy, “We’re just more confident in ourselves as songwriters now. We don’t have anything to prove at this point. We’re comfortable where we are as a band.”
“We’re older, but maybe not wiser,” joked Rev. “This is who we are right now.”
This week, the band embarks on their farewell shows throughout Colorado. Kicking off at 10 Mile Music Hall yesterday, The Lil Smokies will perform their final shows at The Ogden Theatre in Denver, Colorado tonight and Washington's in Fort Collins, Colorado tomorrow.
For more information and to purchase tickets to final Colorado shows, please visit: thelilsmokies.net.
