Have you heard of garage swamp music? Of course you haven’t, it’s brand new! Read on to see if this just might be your new favorite music genre. Photo from Elizabeth Broocks Owens.
In his self-titled debut album that came out in February, songwriter and musical artist Bones Owens has created a genre all of his own: garage-swamp.
What is garage-swamp you might ask? To Owens, although he didn’t give it that title, he believes it takes inspiration from both the rock and roll and blues genres he grew up listening to.
“I’m influenced pretty heavily by 1960s garage rock; bands like The Kinks,” Owens said. “A mix of that sound, plus the southern, swampy, bluesey element.”
His parents have served as musical inspirations as well, being the ones who got him invested in singing, songwriting and the like from a very young age. In addition to his family roots, Owens cites John Fogerty from Creedence Clearwater Revival, Bob Dylan, Neil Young and Jimi Hendrix as some of his more well-known musical influences. He also studied creative writing and English in college, which gave him a strong foundation for his songwriting.
“Bones Owens” is a 12-track LP that offers listeners a look into Owens’ distinctive, alternative, rock-inspired sound. The lead single, “Keep it Close,” was released in early 2018. Owens is popularly known for his former-guitar work with rapper Yelawolf and musical artist and producer Mikky Ekko. Now, Owens is focused on his solo career and projects.
Despite just being released, Owens has had this record completed for a while, waiting to put it out in the world when the time was right. It was recorded in August of 2019, and originally scheduled for release in July of 2020. From there, the album release was bumped to October and, finally, to February of 2021, when it was ultimately released.
“It was frustrating, but at the same time I sort of looked at what was going on in the world, and what a lot of other people were experiencing, and if my biggest problem was that my record was going to have to wait awhile, I don’t have it too bad,” Owens said. “The first several months of the shutdown were very, as they were for a lot of people, tough.”
Although it was irritating to wait months to finally release the album, Owens looks forward to potentially being able to play some shows later on this year.
“You don’t want them to forget about it before you get to play the songs,” Owens said. “At least it looks like there’s a strong possibility that later this year we’ll be able to get back and play some concerts. It’s just better this way.”
Despite the record’s delay, Owens believes the quality of the songs and the album overall is strong. Time has only made him more appreciative of what he wrote years ago. His personal favorite track off the album is “Keep it Close,” one of the oldest tracks on the record, although it was hard for him to choose. “Keep it Close” is a guitar-heavy track about life and family, bringing a strong Oasis-vibe to the listener. According to Owens, the song gained popularity a few years ago when it was initially released, but he included it in the album’s tracklist because it was “in the same spirit of the rest of the album.”
Owens is excited for the record to finally be out after its long-awaited release, but it has only made him more ready to write more songs and create another album. The songs are no longer “his,” but now “belong to the world.”
Social media interactions have been overwhelmingly positive, and Owens is pleased with the reception of the album, but ready to get back in the studio and create more.