Mike West returns with his guttural truths, The Next Life LP
Mike West – The Next Life is available at Bandcamp, Apple Music.
by Walter Price
“This is where I was born, but it’s not where I’ll die…”, Mike West sings on his latest single, “Rock Ferry”. Only to be followed in short space with this heart-achingly honest line, “Thats the funny thing about life, that it always moves on.”, and this very lyric can mostly sum up the entire new album, ‘The Next Life’. A raw 9-track set that’s beautifully and hauntingly struggling to make sense or find comfort in its songwriter’s origins and own skin.
This album, bluesy, guttural, and West’s own version of alt-country isn’t going to rest well at first listen. From the first song, the title track, you’ll immediately realize that is isn’t a glamour release, this is realities staring deep into your soul and it hurts at times. And that is the sticky stuff that will make this one of the most unique and sincere records of the summer.
THE NEXT LIFE
+ Rock Ferry, the film
Artist photo by Georgia Flynn Creative
Mike West – Vocals, guitar, harmonica and bass
Paul Miceli-Fagrell – Harmonica, recording and mixing
Amy Chalmers – Violin
Travis Egnor – Pedal steel, Slide Guitar
Cover Art – Nic Shearon and Declan Montgomery
Interior and back art – Declan Montgomery
Recorded at Kingwood Studios -Liverpool
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“Not Country Enough. Not Blues Enough. Not Folk Enough. Too Heavy.
Fitting existential crisis into less than 3 minutes.”