Collin Herring
In Case You Missed It: 2014, so far
A look at local records that might have been overlooked in the year’s first half
By Peter Blackstock
American-Statesman Staff
The first half of 2014 brought a lot of record releases by local acts that got plenty of attention — from Willie Nelson’s first batch of new songs since the ’90s, to a second duo record by Kelly Willis & Bruce Robison, to the auspicious debut of Spanish Gold — but also many more that warranted notice. Here’s a look back at January to June with an eye toward things that might have flown somewhat under the radar.
Collin Herring, “Some Knives”: Herring’s sixth album, but first in five years, was worth the wait. Drawing heavily on his father Ben Roi Herring’s steel guitar and keyboard talents — and given emotional gravitas by the fact that his father beat cancer while the album was being recorded — it’s a compelling collection of roots-oriented indie rock. Not everything is as strong as the opening “Psychopaths,” a legit candidate for local song of the year, but it’s solid, heartfelt work from start to finish...
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Killer or Filler?
These scene veterans have something
to say.
Posted June 25, 2014 by FORT WORTH WEEKLY STAFF AND CONTRIBUTORS in Music
For a while back in the mid-aughts, Collin Herring was one of the biggest deals around, packing shows all over North Texas and doing his friends and neighbors proud at sanctioned South By Southwest showcases. Since relocating to Austin, he’s been sort of quiet. His new album, his first studio work in five years, arrives around the same time as new studio recordings from two other veterans, Fungi Girls and Romio No E. Enjoy. –– Anthony Mariani
Collin Herring’s Some Knives
It’s been five years since Fort Worth/Austin singer-songwriter Collin Herring released a studio effort. He’s been working on his new long-player, Some Knives, in fits and starts over the years with producer and Centro-matic drummer Matt Pence. Herring the songwriter has always had a knack for creating poetic images steeped in a weird American gothic sensibility, and Some Knives showcases that gift very well. The big surprise from the new album is how much Herring has come to sound like the love child of Neil Young and Michael Stipe, without any self-conscious mimicry of either distinctive vocalist. His new album, his fifth studio recording, makes him sound more confident than ever in mixing themes of hope and despair and making them sound inseparable.
Other than some evocative, icy synth touches from his keyboardist/pedal steel player dad Ben Roi Herring, Herring’s new release is as much straight-ahead Texas rock ’n’ roll as neo-folk or Americana. Opener “Psychopaths” sets the instrumental template for the whole record –– the rhythm section is low in the mix, undergirding a spiky bed of electric guitars from which Ben Roi’s spooky pedal steel occasionally broadcasts lilting half-melodies. “Psychopaths like me don’t shiver,” Herring sings with nasally matter-of-factness. “Even when it’s cold in winter.”
“Higher Ground” bounces along atop a tight, paranoid little drum shuffle but offers real hope to self-proclaimed crazy man Herring as he sings, “I know there’s a path / A light to guide me out of this.” The jumpy, cheerful “Kicked Around” is equally hopeful in a low-key way. “Come Home” also has an affecting trot of a rhythm fixed to some hard-earned wisdom, as Herring thanks someone –– presumably his dad –– for helping him sell a beloved Ford so he could learn “how to let go of things I can’t afford.” “Lights at the End” is an ambivalent little reverie in which the musician finally sees an exit strategy that’s very painful but that doesn’t involve total darkness. To illustrate his point, he describes a cow dying from a felled telephone pole in an electrical storm. The scene makes total sense in Herring’s off-kilter but lyrical worldview. Some Knives demonstrates that we didn’t miss this unique artist nearly enough during his recording hiatus. –– Jimmy Fowler
Full article here.
Posted June 25, 2014 by FORT WORTH WEEKLY STAFF AND CONTRIBUTORS in Music
For a while back in the mid-aughts, Collin Herring was one of the biggest deals around, packing shows all over North Texas and doing his friends and neighbors proud at sanctioned South By Southwest showcases. Since relocating to Austin, he’s been sort of quiet. His new album, his first studio work in five years, arrives around the same time as new studio recordings from two other veterans, Fungi Girls and Romio No E. Enjoy. –– Anthony Mariani
Collin Herring’s Some Knives
It’s been five years since Fort Worth/Austin singer-songwriter Collin Herring released a studio effort. He’s been working on his new long-player, Some Knives, in fits and starts over the years with producer and Centro-matic drummer Matt Pence. Herring the songwriter has always had a knack for creating poetic images steeped in a weird American gothic sensibility, and Some Knives showcases that gift very well. The big surprise from the new album is how much Herring has come to sound like the love child of Neil Young and Michael Stipe, without any self-conscious mimicry of either distinctive vocalist. His new album, his fifth studio recording, makes him sound more confident than ever in mixing themes of hope and despair and making them sound inseparable.
Other than some evocative, icy synth touches from his keyboardist/pedal steel player dad Ben Roi Herring, Herring’s new release is as much straight-ahead Texas rock ’n’ roll as neo-folk or Americana. Opener “Psychopaths” sets the instrumental template for the whole record –– the rhythm section is low in the mix, undergirding a spiky bed of electric guitars from which Ben Roi’s spooky pedal steel occasionally broadcasts lilting half-melodies. “Psychopaths like me don’t shiver,” Herring sings with nasally matter-of-factness. “Even when it’s cold in winter.”
“Higher Ground” bounces along atop a tight, paranoid little drum shuffle but offers real hope to self-proclaimed crazy man Herring as he sings, “I know there’s a path / A light to guide me out of this.” The jumpy, cheerful “Kicked Around” is equally hopeful in a low-key way. “Come Home” also has an affecting trot of a rhythm fixed to some hard-earned wisdom, as Herring thanks someone –– presumably his dad –– for helping him sell a beloved Ford so he could learn “how to let go of things I can’t afford.” “Lights at the End” is an ambivalent little reverie in which the musician finally sees an exit strategy that’s very painful but that doesn’t involve total darkness. To illustrate his point, he describes a cow dying from a felled telephone pole in an electrical storm. The scene makes total sense in Herring’s off-kilter but lyrical worldview. Some Knives demonstrates that we didn’t miss this unique artist nearly enough during his recording hiatus. –– Jimmy Fowler
Full article here.
USA TODAY PREMIERES COLLIN HERRING’S NEW TRACK “SOME KNIVES”!
TEXAS SINGER-SONGWRITER COLLIN
HERRING TO RELEASE FIFTH ALBUM SOME KNIVES ON MAY 13TH!
CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO THE PREMIERE OF COLLIN HERRING’S NEW TITLE TRACK “SOME KNIVES” VIA USA TODAY’S POP CANDY!
Some Knives is Collin Herring‘s fifth studio effort, yet it’s his first in nearly five years. “This album has been done for a lot longer than it seems,” the Texas singer-songwriter admits. “Most of the process was coordinating dates and small sessions here and there. Producer and drummer Matt Pence (Centro-matic) was able to hear the demos and the rest was just making it happen. We liked working with Matt and after some discussion about the initial recordings, it was a no brainer that he was going to mix this record as well. We didn’t want anything lost in translation on this project.”
Herring & Pence were joined in the studio with Jeremy Hull on bass and the singer-songwriter’s father, Ben Roi Herring, on keyboards, pedal steel and backing vocals. “I like that the credits on this album are short. I like small groups,” Herring states. “There was no ‘that sounded good’ and then re-recording it at a later date. We all just played our parts.”
One of the underlying influences of the album occurred unintentionally during the sessions. As Herring explains, “During the recording process my Dad got cancer and beat it (Remission). Good surgeon and good cannabis oil. There was a point when Dad was laying down the pedal steel on one of the songs that I had to go outside and take a walk. It was emotional. While he was recording he looked up at me with this look on his face that told me his entire story. A look that said this is for you. This note. All these notes. All these bends. Everything that’s weaving around. This is life and it’s not over yet. Thank goodness.”
“We kept the health stuff to ourselves but I’d be lying if I didn’t say it had some impact. Most of the recording was done when we found out but I still feel like, every now and then, that some of the emotional shadows crept onto the recordings.”
Some Knives is, in fact, an emotional ride, yet it’s a beautiful trip not only shrouded with dark corners, doubt and fear, but also dappled with light and a shimmering sense of hope throughout. These 11 moving tracks, that stylistically traverse through rock, alt.country and even touches of psychedelia, should prove what regional Texas press has already been hailing as both “the torchbearer for alt.country” and “the next big thing.”
Collin Herring’s Some Knives will be available on CD & digital formats on May 13th. Spring/summer U.S tour dates to be announced soon.
CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO THE PREMIERE OF COLLIN HERRING’S NEW TITLE TRACK “SOME KNIVES” VIA USA TODAY’S POP CANDY!
Some Knives is Collin Herring‘s fifth studio effort, yet it’s his first in nearly five years. “This album has been done for a lot longer than it seems,” the Texas singer-songwriter admits. “Most of the process was coordinating dates and small sessions here and there. Producer and drummer Matt Pence (Centro-matic) was able to hear the demos and the rest was just making it happen. We liked working with Matt and after some discussion about the initial recordings, it was a no brainer that he was going to mix this record as well. We didn’t want anything lost in translation on this project.”
Herring & Pence were joined in the studio with Jeremy Hull on bass and the singer-songwriter’s father, Ben Roi Herring, on keyboards, pedal steel and backing vocals. “I like that the credits on this album are short. I like small groups,” Herring states. “There was no ‘that sounded good’ and then re-recording it at a later date. We all just played our parts.”
One of the underlying influences of the album occurred unintentionally during the sessions. As Herring explains, “During the recording process my Dad got cancer and beat it (Remission). Good surgeon and good cannabis oil. There was a point when Dad was laying down the pedal steel on one of the songs that I had to go outside and take a walk. It was emotional. While he was recording he looked up at me with this look on his face that told me his entire story. A look that said this is for you. This note. All these notes. All these bends. Everything that’s weaving around. This is life and it’s not over yet. Thank goodness.”
“We kept the health stuff to ourselves but I’d be lying if I didn’t say it had some impact. Most of the recording was done when we found out but I still feel like, every now and then, that some of the emotional shadows crept onto the recordings.”
Some Knives is, in fact, an emotional ride, yet it’s a beautiful trip not only shrouded with dark corners, doubt and fear, but also dappled with light and a shimmering sense of hope throughout. These 11 moving tracks, that stylistically traverse through rock, alt.country and even touches of psychedelia, should prove what regional Texas press has already been hailing as both “the torchbearer for alt.country” and “the next big thing.”
Collin Herring’s Some Knives will be available on CD & digital formats on May 13th. Spring/summer U.S tour dates to be announced soon.
SOME KNIVES TRACK LISTING:
1. Psychopaths
2. Some Knives
3. Covered Up
4. Higher Ground
5. Woke Up The Same
6. One Last Twice
7. Kicked Around
8. Different Ways
9. Hard To Hear
10. Come Home
11. Lights At The End
HERE’S WHAT PEOPLE HAVE BEEN SAYING ABOUT COLLIN HERRING:
[Song Premiere: Collin Herring’s “Some Knives”] “The Texas-based singer-songwriter crafts intimate, country-tinged tunes that remind me of some of my favorite bands, like Son Volt and Whiskeytown. Close your eyes and open your ears to this track, and may you be temporarily transported … (And seriously, how great is this song? I’ve heard it about a dozen times already and that’s still not enough!)” – Whitney Matheson / USA TODAY: POP CANDY
“… a phenomenal album that melds the alt-country and power pop genres with captivating ease. Herring’s songs can be utterly heartbreaking and poetic even when he’s banging the hell out of his guitar.” - DALLAS OBSERVER
“… electric-honed alt.country in the vein of Son Volt.” – THE AUSTIN CHRONICLE
“If you are a fan of Matthew Ryan, then adding Herring’s work to your collection is a must. His poetry, robed in rock with a slight spark of twang continues to be an impressive combination.” – TWANGVILLE
“On Herring’s fourth album, Ocho, the Austin singer/songwriter assembles an eight-song set that often bristles with the Roots/Rock Americana of his first three discs while incorporating more of the kind of atmospheric texturalism found in the wheelhouse of Tom Waits and Chuck Prophet. Herring’s plaintive and tremulous vocal style and disquieting lyrical honesty puts him in proximity to Ryan Adams, Freedy Johnston and Chris Whitley, especially when he goes full bore electric. But when he applies those same gifts in an acoustic Folk direction, there’s a haunted, ethereal quality to the songs reminiscent of Elvis Costello’s collaborations with T-Bone Burnett. And in a lot of cases, the cumulative results are Herring’s distinctive sonic fingerprint, giving the clear impression that he’s well on his way to establishing the kind of broad, expansive and unique range that Neil Young has successfully cultivated for the past four decades.” – CINCINNATI CITY BEAT
1. Psychopaths
2. Some Knives
3. Covered Up
4. Higher Ground
5. Woke Up The Same
6. One Last Twice
7. Kicked Around
8. Different Ways
9. Hard To Hear
10. Come Home
11. Lights At The End
HERE’S WHAT PEOPLE HAVE BEEN SAYING ABOUT COLLIN HERRING:
[Song Premiere: Collin Herring’s “Some Knives”] “The Texas-based singer-songwriter crafts intimate, country-tinged tunes that remind me of some of my favorite bands, like Son Volt and Whiskeytown. Close your eyes and open your ears to this track, and may you be temporarily transported … (And seriously, how great is this song? I’ve heard it about a dozen times already and that’s still not enough!)” – Whitney Matheson / USA TODAY: POP CANDY
“… a phenomenal album that melds the alt-country and power pop genres with captivating ease. Herring’s songs can be utterly heartbreaking and poetic even when he’s banging the hell out of his guitar.” - DALLAS OBSERVER
“… electric-honed alt.country in the vein of Son Volt.” – THE AUSTIN CHRONICLE
“If you are a fan of Matthew Ryan, then adding Herring’s work to your collection is a must. His poetry, robed in rock with a slight spark of twang continues to be an impressive combination.” – TWANGVILLE
“On Herring’s fourth album, Ocho, the Austin singer/songwriter assembles an eight-song set that often bristles with the Roots/Rock Americana of his first three discs while incorporating more of the kind of atmospheric texturalism found in the wheelhouse of Tom Waits and Chuck Prophet. Herring’s plaintive and tremulous vocal style and disquieting lyrical honesty puts him in proximity to Ryan Adams, Freedy Johnston and Chris Whitley, especially when he goes full bore electric. But when he applies those same gifts in an acoustic Folk direction, there’s a haunted, ethereal quality to the songs reminiscent of Elvis Costello’s collaborations with T-Bone Burnett. And in a lot of cases, the cumulative results are Herring’s distinctive sonic fingerprint, giving the clear impression that he’s well on his way to establishing the kind of broad, expansive and unique range that Neil Young has successfully cultivated for the past four decades.” – CINCINNATI CITY BEAT
