Country Westerns played Ore Bar

Country Westerns just finished recording their next record in Brooklyn and played a few shows in the outer boroughs while they were in town.

2020's self-titled debut album from Nashville's Country Westerns is a barn burner of an affair. It's raucous, ramshackle in spirit, but a tightly-wound rock record that rips things open from the start and never lets go. There is a laid-back, dusty tinge to the songs, but they're still belted with a guttural force that enforces a sense of urgency. Joey Plunkett's gravelly voice gives each song wild texture that sets them up as the best bar band you've ever heard and seeing them plop down at the back of one in Brooklyn felt like the perfect place to catch their superbly tight show. The trio wasted no time and hit the ground running with their surging tracks that were kept firmly in place by their rhythm section which sounded extra tough and locked in to a solid groove. The bass and drums anchoring the somewhat rambling and cacophonous electric guitar that chugged along with exceptional twang, the band's dynamic could've been ragged, but they were remarkably sharp. "Anytime" and "I'm Not Ready" were full of life and felt like they were ready for bigger stages so a crowd could get a good pit going and rock right alongside the band. Their self described sound is "sad songs with fun drums" and they definitely deliver on fun and it was clear that everyone in the bar was ready to hand bang right there with them as they rocked out their bluesy downtrodden rock. At just under an hour, the band's set consisted of every song they know (they claimed), but it clearly left a mark and made the crowd hungry for more. It's unfortunate that as the band hopefully gets bigger with their next album, they'll start to play bigger shows. This is the kind of music that you want (and need) to hear while jammed tightly in a dark room, elbows bumping into the person next to you, as the spit from Plunkett's growl comes right out of the speaker at you. It's a loud and at times a bit abrasive sound, but one that still feels inviting. This isn't a band that you need to be a certain kind of cool to experience, but listening to them will certainly make you feel as tough and cool as you'll hope and seeing them only makes it that much better. A bar band for a time when we're all, hopefully, ready to start get back out into the world and into the pit. Country Westerns are here to supply the good times and good tunes.