 CONRAD FORD: Secret Army
A collection of stories detailing battles for hope & companionship. Woven from the perspectives of lone travelers, felons, and family men - their execution sways from folk-ish, Townes Van Zandt-like ballads to fuller Flying Burrito Brothers-inspired, laid-back country rock.
"A disturbingly beautiful and absorbing collection of songs." - Seattle Weekly
"The kind of disk that belongs in your stereo as the rain slides down the window and the darkness of autumn midday sets in. It flows slow and deliberate." - Sound Magazine
"Secret Army is one of those albums that you just can't stop listening to. This isn't alt-country or some other lame country-fried affectation. It's storytelling, and it's beautiful." - The Stranger
"As you can tell there is little room for a hoe-down on this record, whilst its tales of life and depression remain bleak there is something magnetic about the sound & lyrics. Fans of Eels, Iron & Wire & Sparklehorse will find plenty here to discover." - Americana UK
"It attaches itself to you like a blowing grit, gets under your nails. It’s hobos riding rails; a little prayer before a meager meal. Conrad Ford might have just made quite the timely album." - Three Imaginary Girls
Purchase from AMAZON, CDBABY, and iTUNES.
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CONRAD FORD: Don't You Miss Yourself
Inspired by the big skies of western film director John Ford and the stark characters of cinematographer Conrad Hall, this is a soundtrack for the lonesome - downtrodden country songs of romance & loss. Mixed by Phil Ek (Fleet Foxes, Band Of Horses, The Shins).
Top 50 NW Albums of 2006 - Three Imaginary Girls
"Conrad Ford have crafted an album of delicate beauty that rejects the hustle, bustle and dubious delights of the big city." - Americana UK
"Perfectly suited to the approaching winter weather, it will help see you through the cold, dark months." - Performer Magazine
Purchase from AMAZON, CDBABY, and iTUNES.
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ABOUT
It was during one of Seattle's rainiest summers in recent memory that the outlaws started
to creep into Conrad Ford's country-tinged tales. They came by way of the real-life adventures of the band members and their families - mental health crises at a youth detention facility, running a weight room at a minimum security prison, tax evasion and imprisonment of a longtime friend. Andy McAllister – also a freelance film editor – was editing a death-row movie on a isolated farm on Bainbridge Island when he began humming a majority of the songs found on Secret Army. But rather than turn on the reel-to-reel to begin recording the base tracks as a lone crooner (as he did on their debut release Don't You Miss Yourself), McAllister rallied his bandmates Jordan Walton (pedal steel, omnichord, banjo), April Sather (Wurlitzer, melodica, glockenspiel, accordion, trumpet) and percussionist Nathanael Butler to first put the skin and muscle into the skeleton songs as a unified bunch. They handed the reels over to producer/engineer Tucker Martine (The Decemberists/Laura Veirs/Jesse Sykes) to mix. Conrad Ford (named after big skies of western film director John Ford and the stark characters of cinematographer Conrad Hall) have released their second full-length Secret Army, on Tarnished Records.
Conrad Ford have opened for Eef Barzelay (Clem Snide), Jason Isbell (Drive-By Truckers), Firewater and Holly Golightly.
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Conrad Ford t-shirts, cd's & artwork in our store here.
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