William Tyler – Highway Anxiety

This is not William Tyler's WGOM debut; last year Bootsy spun "Geography of Nowhere," a cut from Tyler's 2013 album Impossible Truth. He released his follow-up album, Modern Country, this June. Tyler wrote it in Oxford, Mississippi, and recorded it in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.

For me the album evokes a contemporary perspective on Gram Parsons' Cosmic American Music, a genre that blurs country, folk, rock, soul, and bluegrass. Jazz is very much Tyler's addition to this mix – you can hear guitar greats Chet Atkins, Les Paul, and Bill Frisell in this track as much as Parsons' take on country-rock. Listen hard enough and you'll hear some Link Wray & Dick Dale, too.

3 votes, average: 9.00 out of 103 votes, average: 9.00 out of 103 votes, average: 9.00 out of 103 votes, average: 9.00 out of 103 votes, average: 9.00 out of 103 votes, average: 9.00 out of 103 votes, average: 9.00 out of 103 votes, average: 9.00 out of 103 votes, average: 9.00 out of 103 votes, average: 9.00 out of 10 (3 votes, average: 9.00 out of 10)
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4 thoughts on “William Tyler – Highway Anxiety”

  1. And here I thought the song title was a reference to all those who are traveling for the holidays . . .

    In any case, safe travels to all!

    1. I didn't intend the reference, but the inspiration for the song does fit what you were thinking:

      One reality of playing as a mostly solo artist is that you spend a lot of time driving alone between gigs. That’s especially stressful for Tyler, as he explained when I saw him last summer, because a few years ago he found himself having near-panic attacks at the prospect of driving on the interstate. He wrote this song as a salve for his own worried mind, but it’s a good salve for other anxieties, too.

  2. Although I only bought, maybe, 8 new records this year, William Tyler's Modern Country likely would have made my 'best of' list even if I'd gotten 4 times as many. Terrific stuff.

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