The Americans

THE AMERICANS STRAYS | Bio 2023

Every so often, musicians arrive on the scene with an undeniably fresh approach to a tried-and-true genre. Acclaimed Los Angeles roots rock band The Americans have again shown their ability to reinvent rock & roll through the prism of early folk and blues. Their upcoming EP, Strays, out 7/21, presents a poignant and original body of work.

The Americans' last two releases, Stand True (2022) and I’ll Be Yours (2017), helped catapult the band into the spotlight. Revered producer T Bone Burnett called them "genius twenty-first century musicians that are reinventing American heritage music for this century. And it sounds even better this century."

Acclaimed music journalist Greil Marcus (Pitchfork) writes, "From the first rolling guitar notes, carrying sadness and defiance like dust, this sweeps me up: I want to know everything about where that feeling came from, and where it's going."

Strays is brimming with innovative arrangements, catchy hooks, and soulful vocals. The Americans have once again proved themselves to be one of the most exciting and talented bands in the roots music scene. The EP lands somewhere between Bruce Springsteen and Nathaniel Rateliff.

The first single, "When You Get Back," is a heartbreak song about devotion and solitude in the face of unlikely odds. Vocalist Patrick Ferris weaves between a soulful whisper and all-out rocking choruses. He sings mournfully, "You left the life of virtue / To them that might deserve you / And drifted out to sea." It's an intimate, emotional opener that sets the tone for the rest of the EP.

Patrick's resonant vocals shine again on the hard-hitting second single "Kingdom." Layered with ripping guitar riffs from Zac Sokolow and exquisite bass grooves from Jake Faulkner, the song examines the power of one-way desire. Patrick snarls, "You hold the key to the kingdom / Wrapped 'round your wrist like a weapon."

"Land of the Free," the second track on Strays, is a powerful anthem about homelessness in Los Angeles. With a Tom Waits-crooner opening, featuring piano and upright bass, the song falls into a dreamscape of rolling rhythms and shimmering electric guitars. "O'er the land of the freeways," sings Patrick, "and the home of the strays."