For many years I would normally say I wasn’t much of a fan of modern country music. And then Zach Bryan came along (along with similar artists like Sam Barber, Levi Turner, etc), bringing a little bit more rock and Americana influence to the genre that grounded it back in real emotion and stories without the cheesy references, cringey twang or obnoxious honky tonk of it all. Bryan has done his own part to help usher in more of these artists through covers, signings (Levi Turner‘s on Bryan’s label), or doing features on their tracks.
The latter helped me discover Jack Van Cleaf, with Bryan’s guesting on Cleaf’s new version of “Rattlesnake”. While we don’t cover re-recordings/reimaginings/remixes/acoustic/live versions of previously released songs, the quality of this new versions definitely tempted me and shone a light on Cleaf’s work for me. The artist hasn’t disappointed.
Recently, Cleaf dropped two new songs from his upcoming album JVC – the very catchy rock-leaning “Green”, and “Using You”, a classic country-western style drug tale that managed to get stuck in my head despite it’s heavy leanings towards country. Maybe it’s Cleaf’s humor-tinged storytelling and evocative vocal delivery that won me over…
Or maybe it’s just seeing him two-step in a bathrobe and shorts like a happy, drugged-out junkie in the song’s Breaking Bad-inspired music video. The video is a hoot. Cleaf and his sketchy associates make and admire their Candy Heart creations, as Cleaf sings wistfully about “psychotropic pixie moon dust” and woos his lover with lines like “You can be the lighter in my spoon”. This one will mosey right into your candy heart, and will likely win over country fans, and folks like me who may have scoffed at the genre a few years ago.
Watch the video above, and stream the song here.
