Big Ugly

Country-rock six piece from Durham, North Carolina. A refresh of 2000s radio-country with beautiful storytelling lyrics. (The singer, Aaron Dowdy, grew up in Appalachia and is a PhD candidate in literature at Duke.) Wonderfully catchy songwriting and a big open-hearted sound featuring crunchy guitars as well as great pedal steel and fiddle melodies. RIYL Wednesday, MJ Lenderman, Magnolia Electric Co., Friendship, Ryan Davis & the Roadhouse Band. Favorites: 1, 4, 6, 9. No FCCs.

1. *(4:43)—Mid-tempo, great open-road driving song. Catchy, triumphant wordless melody.
2. (4:54)—Medium-slow, heavy-footed rhythm. Lyrics that allude to "Maggie's Farm."
3. (3:41)—Medium-slow, sweet and pensive, with emphasis on the strings and piano.
4. *(4:16)–Medium-slow, with big crunchy riffs. "If we make it up the mountain again, we’ll be back with country friends."
5. (4:37)—Very slow, mournful, with ghostly pedal steel textures.
6. *(3:29)—Medium-slow, just gorgeous and gentle and wistful, with a dramatic bridge. "I’m bound to be a boring angel, though I try not to be."
7. (4:01)—Mid-tempo, with a steady, easy groove.
8. (3:03)—Slow and soft, with pretty duet harmonies. "You’ve got a gift, a raw talent for being put up with."
9. *(5:19)—Mid-tempo and easygoing. A gently heartbreaking character study of a couple. "As southern kids we learned how to drink enough, it’s all we’ve got and it’s easy, but sometimes it still hurts to see you love me."
10. (2:13)—Medium-slow, mainly strummed acoustic guitar and voice. Lyrics about loving your hometown.
11. (3:43)—Slow, with the sweet sadness of a Magnolia Electric Co. song. Very pretty pedal steel solo.