Atomic Junction

Atomic Junction draws its gritty blend of Midwest-inspired rock ’n’ roll, country and blues music from influences such as Ray Wylie Hubbard, Steve Earle, The Band, Tony Joe White and Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, among others.

“There is something pretty retro about the way they’re getting to the hook,” critic Chadwick Easton wrote of the band in Melody Maker Magazine. "The approach is as classic as it gets … exclusive and original in every department.”

Based in St. Louis, Atomic Junction’s music reflects the diverse inspirations of its members: Mike Wayne on bass guitar, multi-instrumentalist Clay Mudd pivoting amongst his resonator and 12-string baritone guitars, Mark Murdaugh on lead guitar and harmonica, percussionist Brian McCary and Aaron Kyle Perlut on rhythm guitar and vocals.

The band's eclectic approach is, in part, why producer Greg Griffith calls the band, "the bastard love child of early-Replacements and Reba McEntire.”

Perlut, Atomic's principal songwriter, is a storyteller. He works to crafts lyrics that are often offbeat and admittedly wordy, with straightforward rock- and country-inspired arrangements designed to blend seamlessly with Murdaugh's more complex rock and blues-derived leads.

As Raised By Cassettes noted, the band is, “Somewhere between Lynyrd Skynyrd and Lou Reed's Wildside ... Atomic Junction brings out these winding guitars for an almost-twang sound but it's slow and plodding. The closest sound I can really compare this with is that classic Southern rock sound, though it is not completely that…”

Midwestern storytelling, rootsy Americana to its core, told authentically with earnest, satirical grit—that is Atomic Junction.