Our Song of the Day is from a trio that originally hailed from Brattleboro, Vermont. Leaving their home far behind The Devil Makes Three have gone on to appear at Newport Folk and Austin City Limits Festivals, Bonnaroo and Lollapalooza, as well touring with Willie Nelson, Emmylou Harris and more.
The song we’ve chosen is Stranger which is taken from their fourth album and their New West Records debut I’m a Stranger Here. The trio play acoustic guitar, upright bass and drums as well as banjo and occasional musical saw. Despite the lack of drums they still have a driving force dynamic that will have a crowd up and on their feet in seconds. A slick combination of influences ranging from folk and blues to jugbands and punk give them that special edge; as guitarist Pete Bernhard says “we bend genres pretty hard”.
Bernhard originally wrote 20 songs for consideration on the album which he turned over to producer Buddy Miller who gravitated towards their darker lyrics partly inspired by their life on the road and life’s tribulations. Rather than record at his home studio he sent the band to Dan Auerbach’s (Black Keys) Easy Eye studio. “Easy Eye is like Sun Records,” Bernhard says. “There’s one live tracking room filled with amazing gear, and that defines the kind of record you’re going to make. That was exactly the record we wanted to make, and we knew Buddy was the one who could capture us playing together like we do.”
The results speak for themselves, the track Stranger has something about it that brings back a lost era in music whilst still blazing a forward facing trail. Here is the official new video:
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