You’d have to be out of the loop if you haven’t been seeing the absolute tear that The Red Clay Strays have been on this year. While they have been killing it for many years now, the recognition they have long deserved is finally upon them and that has led to their music being introduced to the world, which is blasting them off to current music’s top-tier. Consisting of vocalist/guitarist Brandon Coleman, guitarists Drew Nix and Zach Rishel, bassist Andrew Bishop, and John Hall, The Red Clay Strays is the band to listen to and follow right now, and honestly, there’s nobody even close.
On July 26th, the group released their newest album, Made by These Moments. The Red Clay Strays came in strong on this record, which you can already tell by the first track. There is a very healthy mix of gritty emotion with some warm soul that balances out these tunes as they progress. Some of the rippin’ rock ‘n’ roll centric tracks include Disaster and the southern rockin’ Ramblin’. Wanna Be Loved was already a well-received song when it was released as a single back in May, and other soulful tracks along that line include Drowning and, what I predict to be a favorite off the album for many people, Moments.
A theme that pops up a lot throughout the record is spirituality and blatant speak about the group’s beliefs, which is quite frankly very refreshing to see. You can share different viewpoints and still enjoy this album, but The Red Clay Strays know what they believe, aren’t afraid to write about what they believe and have no problem spreading that message to the people, and anyone should be able to admire that. Also worth mentioning, the boys teamed up with producer Dave Cobb (famous for his work with Chris Stapleton, Sturgill Simpson, John Prine and Jason Isbell just to name a few), so his contributions to the aesthetic and sonic feel do nothing but strengthen the end result of the record.
For me personally, I’m going to put this as my album of the year since it is very unlikely anyone will come close to knocking it off that pedestal by the end of December (who isn’t named Johnny Blue Skies/Sturgill Simpson, who is a super close second place). Seriously though, this is a record that is required listening, and it is a perfect hook to reel in any future fans who are completely unfamiliar with the group at the moment.
Go check out Made by These Moments by The Red Clay Strays now!