Collin Herring – ‘Some Knives’ (album stream) (Premiere)

Collin Herring is often labeled alt-country and there is some truth to that, but there’s just as much as much indie rock in his sound. Some Knives bristles with energy and rousing melodies that will please fans of indie and Americana equally, as the album touches on influences from Son Volt and Whiskeytown alongside Neil Young, R.E.M. and even Nirvana.

Herring tells PopMatters all about the album’s recording process…

“This album has been done for a lot longer than it seems. Most of the process was coordinating dates and small sessions here and there. Producer and drummer Matt Pence (Centro-matic) was able to hear the demos and the rest was just making it happen. We liked working with Matt and after some discussion about the initial recordings, it was a no brainer that he was going to mix this record as well. We didn’t want anything lost in translation on this project.

“I like that the credits on this album are short — just Matt Pence, Jeremy Hull on bass, my dad [Ben Roi Herring] on keyboards, pedal steel & backing vocals, and myself. I like small groups. We all just played our parts.

“During the recording process my Dad got cancer and eventually beat it, but I’d be lying if I didn’t say it had some impact on the album. There was a point when Dad was laying down the pedal steel on one of the songs that I had to go outside and take a walk. It was emotional. While he was recording he looked up at me with this look on his face that told me his entire story. Everything that’s weaving around. This is life and it’s not over yet.

“We kept the health stuff to ourselves. Most of the recording was done when we found out but I still feel like, every now and then, that some of the emotional shadows crept onto the recordings.”