Briscoe, West of It All
West of It All, the debut album from Americana folk-rock band Briscoe, is a coming-of-age soundtrack set against the backdrop of the Texas Hill Country. Written in the Lone Star State and recorded in North Carolina, it's an album that charts its own musical geography, with production from Grammy nominee Brad Cook (Bon Iver, Waxahatchee, Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats) and adventurous songwriting that bridges the gap between classic American roots music and its modern-day incarnation.
From free backyard performances on the outskirts of UT Austin's campus to sold-out gigs at Antone's Nightclub and The Continental Club Gallery, Briscoe's growth — like the group's music itself — has been organic. Bandmates Truett Heintzelman and Philip Lupton met as teenagers, reunited as students at UT Austin, and built their grassroots following the old-school way: by carving out a sound that nodded to the golden era of folk, rock, and pop music, then getting onstage and building a genuine relationship with their audience. Signed by ATO Records while still pursuing undergraduate degrees, the Texas natives wrote West of It All as graduation loomed in the distance, funneling the stories of their college experience — from heartbreak to hard-won lessons to weekend trips into the rural countryside — into a raw, rugged blend of classic and contemporary influences.
With contributions from drummer Matt McCaughan (Bon Iver) and multi-instrumentalist Phil Cook (Megafaun, Hiss Golden Messenger), West of It All offers a singular version of genre-fluid folk music, from rootsy rave-ups like "The Well" to brainy, literary songs like "Sparrows." It's a self-assured album that follows no directions but its very own, stacked organic performance and sharp songwriting that negotiates the transition from adolescence to adulthood.
Wells Ferrari opens the show!
Will Wells and Mikey Ferrari grew up on bayshores on opposite ends of this country, bobbing and weaving through various calamities and pitfalls of youth before being saved by music, each in his own way. Landing in Los Angeles at one point or another, they dipped cowboy-booted toes into the sound machine — Mikey as a major label solo artist, Will as a guitar-gunslinger for hire on tours and in sessions — before recognizing that maybe all that glittered wasn't in fact gold. Struggling to find any sense of musical or personal connection in the sprawling landscape, it was only when the two met during a routine writing session for another artist in 2019 that they recognized two things: one, that making music was still the only thing either wanted to do, and two, that this new, other person was what each had been searching for to round out their artistic self. Some people call it kismet, others fate; they simply call it Wells Ferrari.
Seizing on shared personal histories and enough musical influence overlapping to develop a shorthand, the pair recognized a freshness and an energy in their work, not to mention a sense of joy. The songs came quickly and were kept raw but true, with the duo insisting that one of the main strengths of the music was its sincerity. On a trip to the small town of Twentynine Palms, near Joshua Tree National Park, they began recording a handful of tunes, finding inspiration in the solitude, natural beauty, and vast openness of the desert while being able to lock in on the work in a place free of city distractions. Multiple return visits over several months yielded the first few batches of Wells Ferrari songs, which are set to begin trickling out to ears over the course of 2024 in the form of four singles.
Laid out in full sun like a Nudie suit-wearing lizard on top of a bar-blues rock, the hallmark of a Wells Ferrari song will always be the twin voices. Trading verses and refrains then weaving together in moments of simple, gorgeous harmony, each singer sings his own heart out with urgency and raw emotion, yet the songs maintain a cool charm and never feel overwrought or disingenuous. As Will and Mikey will tell you, when it comes to their duo, one plus one equals three. It is a shared offering, forged in heat and stillness yet infused with a kismet, kindred energy and kinetic spirit. Or whatever the hell you want to call it — they haven't slowed down enough to care.