A pretty strong departure from the heavily rocking tunes he’s dished out for Sons of Anarchy and on his albums, Battleme‘s Matt Drenik has teamed up with Andy McFarlane and a couple other musicians to make minimalist but pretty pop music as Far Lands.
The supergroup of sorts also includes Ivan Howard of The Rosebuds and Howard Evans on bass and backup vocals, as well as Elliott Smith‘s old drummer Paul Pulvirenti. When these musical talents come together, the result is somewhat on a Beck-meets-Neil Young plane of congenial folk pop, especially on their newest album Oh, What an Honor/Oh, What a Drag.
There’s an ardor that comes along with Far Lands tracks, particularly with the single "Hearts Like a Knife." McFarlane wrote the track while sitting at his kitchen table with his two daughters, who also happen to join in singing along with the song in the studio. The thought behind the song is cutely warm.
“I didn’t know it then but when Trump won I looked to it as something close to a protest song," says McFarlane. "My little way of telling my girls (and myself) that all will be okay if we stick together and focus on each other instead of the noise.”