Evan Castle and his band The Southern Tier are on a journey of releases this year, with the much talked about ‘Drunk As Hell’ preceding this newer single ‘River’. This time around, it’s a grittier tone that takes over the song.
Hailing from Nashville, Tennessee, it’s clear that Castle has taken elements of local genres like country, Americana and grassroots music, and yet with his fellow band members guitarist Tim Kelly and producer and engineer Jordan Sloat, they’re able to broaden the scope of their sound. You may hear flourishes of contemporary indie-rock or funk in that bass line.
Putting aside the sound ‘River’, here Evan Castle talks candidly about what inspired this song in particular:
“I wrote ‘River’ about people I know, and even thoughts that crossed my mind when I was making decisions about my life and the trajectory I would take. It deals a lot in the question of ‘What does it mean to leave home?’ It questions some of the reasons people are uncomfortable with leaving all they have known to seek an opportunity. The song brings up issues with identity through religion and community and how those parts of people can negatively or positively impact a person’s ability to make important decisions.”
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