Garrett Hendricks Streams New Song 'Son Of The River'
(SFJ) "I'm a son of the river in the land of salmon. Lay me between the sea and the mountains. Let me haunt that moss-draped timber," sings Garrett Hendricks on "Son of the River," his latest single, out now, from his debut album, Northwest & Southbound (October 8). The song is aptly released in the midst of the salmon spawning season in Hendricks' beloved home state of Washington.
Across the lyrics of "Son of the River," Hendricks puts the listener into the landscape of the Northwest, imagining that they, too, share an inherent familiarity with the often-overlooked region. "Growing up in the Northwest, there were a lot of fishing trips with nights around the campfire, with guitars and stories passed around," he says.
"This song is my love letter to home and my wish that when I die, I'm laid to rest in the land I hold dear. I wanted to evoke the serenity of the Northwest, without congesting the story."
Northwest & Southbound finds Garrett Hendricks crossing as many sonic landscapes as he has state lines, using the life experiences and human stories he's collected along the way to find a sense of belonging. Whether it's along a mountain river or tucked in rural farmland in the hills of Tennessee, his artistic drive to find stories never stops-which is the heart of Northwest & Southbound.
Northwest & Southbound was produced by Caleb Fisher (Gabe Lee, Stephen Wilson Jr.) and features musicians with an array of credits, having worked with Nikki Lane, Whitey Morgan, King Margo, and River Shook. Within ten songs, Hendricks chronicles his journey from the rugged mist-cloaked Pacific Northwest to the whiskey-soaked honky tonks of the American South, weaving in detailed reflections about the people and places along the way and coming to terms with the finite nature of life and a need to fill it with stories.
A shared sense of relatability comes through most starkly on his song, "Anthony." Written after a childhood friend's early death by overdose, Hendricks delves into an aftermath that's all too common. "I wrote this song as an exercise in empathy. Sure, there are my own feelings about my friend in there, but I also tried to write from the perspective of the direct family and friends who were left behind in the wake of that loss."
"I've had a lot of people come up and share their own stories after hearing me play that song," he says, "So I hope that telling my friend's story helps others process their own."
Throughout Northwest & Southbound, Hendricks tries to make sense of mortality and all its struggles. After years leading up to his move to Nashville, he faced a series of personal losses as well as a health scare that threw into sharp relief how fragile life is. "I saw firsthand that death can come out of nowhere and that often working-class people can lose their abilities to chase their dreams as victims of unfair systems. I wanted to share with listeners how I took that as the impetus to chase my dreams while I can with whatever time I have-and they should, too."
Still, there are also moments of levity on Northwest & Southbound. There's the outlaw country-meets-swampy-funk of "Goat Leather Boots," and the alt-rock tinged "Bronco," both channeling a carefree live-in-the-moment attitude. "Whiskey Night" also lands squarely in the crossroads of the Northwest and South, with lyrics illustrating wild rivers and wolves, along with tobacco and whiskey. What would otherwise feel like tropes feels authentic through Hendricks' earnest and bombastic delivery, touching on the push-pull emotions of unrequited love.
Closing the album is the haunting, railroad set "Lonesome 27," centering his grandmother's impending death, zeroing in on how often people leave words unsaid or actions undone before it's too late. After toying with sounds ranging from honky tonk to alternative rock to folk and blues, Hendricks turns to sparse guitar and pedal steel.
"Johnny Cash and John Prine are my two biggest influences, and I wanted to write a song that put my music journey back to where it all started. Some of their strongest material was just them and a guitar, where the words could stand out."
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