The Lowbred Watts Delivers Blend of Lo-fi Folk and Blues [stream]

The Lowbred Watts, solo project of Boston musician Ryan Stapler, released his first full-length back in April, and it has to be one of the most criminally slept on releases of the year. This American Hide is an extremely lo-fi, recording done at home on a cassette 4-track. It’s a sound that messes around with folk, country and blues and coats them in a heavy layer of grunge. At times Stapler invokes Bob Dylan with his easygoing lilt, and at other times we hear dirty riffs more akin to Nirvana, all the while surrounded in a thick cloud of sweat and a layer of smoke. There are some books that make me want to drink whiskey when reading them. This American Hide makes me wanna smoke a cigarette, and I don’t even smoke.

The album’s first track, “Adult Things”,  is a good lead-in to his DIY sound, and also a perfect lead-in to a new week in which we are forced to do adult things that we’d rather blow off. “I don’t wanna do adult things today/If I wake ya in the morning/Will ya get up/If you don’t mind I’d rather take off/But it don’t matter.” We feel you, Stapler. The unaffected, gritty nature of this record makes its depths way too easy to fall into, but you should take the plunge right now. Listen to The Lowbred Watts’ “Adult Things” above from This American Hide, and then you’re going to wanna download it here.