Stream: John Isaac Watters, ‘Outside the Bar in Winter’

Kevin Bronson on September 25th, 2013

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There’s an endearing, shambolic quality to the folk music of John Isaac Watters – it’s as if his songs are just happening, complete with their vivid imagery, weeping dobro and pedal steel and wheezing organs. Watters, who’s also been a part of the band Coyol, is set to release his third solo album next month. “Campanas,” which follows 2010’s “Parachute Tramps” and 2012’s “Casas,” was recorded with Raymond Richards at Red Rockets Glare Studio, with instrumental contributions from the producer and William Gramling, among others, and vocal turns from Alex Rhodes, who adds a dose of sweetness to Watters’ seemingly woebegone meditations. “There is a circus in my chest,” Watters sings in “Outside the Bar in Winter,” and maybe there’s one inside his head too. Because there’s plenty to experience in Watters’ big tent.

||| Stream: “Outside the Bar in Winter” and “Ships Don’t Sail”