I’m not old enough to remember, but there was a time in the early seventies when a new wave of country singers, the more liberal, outlaw players such as Kris Kristofferson, Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson, washed up against the more conservative vibes of the southern country fanbase. It was in places such as Austin, San Antonio and Houston that the unstoppable force of this new strand of more progressive country music met the unmovable object of the genre’s sacred traditions, and cosmic country music was birthed for an eclectic fanbase, a strange blend of college kids and country stalwarts, hippies and wranglers, liberal voices and evolving musical styles. As I said, I wasn’t there, but in my mind, it sounded, at least in part, a lot like this new one from The Sensational Country Blues Wonders!
Under this moniker, Gary Van Miert blends together a slow and shimmering, almost psychedelic country waltz and waxes lyrical about his magic mushroom-related consumption and, in turn, associated regrets. If you aren’t paying full attention, the song could sound like the traditional country-blues slow dance but bend your ear closer, and its more cosmic vibes resonate and reveal themselves. Not just through the shimmering, kaleidoscopic sounds that are scattered through the music, the lilting fairground organ and its hazy, heady, and often almost Indian vibes, but most obviously through the subject matter, of which the title tells you everything that you need to know.
Music for the forward-thinking country fan? Of course. Roots music with a twist? Yes, indeed. A song that blends wit and wisdom of a more liberal nature with the established music traditions? That too. A great song? An incredible artist? A must-watch musician? Yes. Yes. And hell, yes!
