Birmingham, AL’s Will Stewart is a busy guy. Along with playing in The Blips and Willie the Giant, he is half of Timber with Janet Elizabeth Simpson; he also played on Simpson’s pretty terrific 2021 album Safe Distance. But Stewart is also a solo artist, with his third album Slow Life freshly released on vinyl by Cornelius Chapel. The sound can be described as Southern rootsy but with ample injections of melodic rock with a collegiate inflection and even some honky-tonk laced folk. Altogether, the ten songs deliver a ride that’s solid and fun and available now.
While he’d self-released a few EPs dating back to 2013, Will Stewart debuted proper in 2018 with County Seat, which was issued on LP/CD/DL by Cornelius Chapel. Said label also released Stewart’s digital-only 2020 mini-album Way Gone, along with Safe Distance by Simpson, who contributes vocals to Slow Life.
Opener “Bad Memory” is a catchy bit of bar rocking with unstrained vocals and some short sharp bursts of glistening slide guitar throughout. Tidy at less than three minutes, it’s the sort of tune that could lead a listener to guess that Stewart is a disciple of Tom Petty. What I appreciate is that Stewart’s not an rank imitator, so that the influence of ol’ Tom is pure speculation.
He additionally has versatility of style in his favor, as “Nothing’s Right” is a folky strummer with a country-tinge. A similarity to Dylan is undeniable, but it sounds like he could’ve picked it up from Townes Van Zandt or something. But with “New World Daydream” the melodic rock impulse is reasserted, and with a steady current of the anthemic coinciding with the roots, which could just as easily be tagged as heartland as Southern.
There’s a blend of toughness and smarts in Stewart’s material that recalls some of the ’80s acts that resided on the left side of radio dial specializing in a strain of Americana-infused rock in a period before Alt-country had a name. This is very much the sound that defines “Let’s Go,” a cut that’s main problem is that it fades out too quickly.
“On the Edge of a Brightness” is another dose of folky strum. Or perhaps better said, Stewart cultivates a singer-songwriter vibe, as his writing is more than serviceable and he’s capable of navigating subtleties of emotion. And right on time, “You’re Not Fun Anymore” blends the songwriter with the rocker in a manner that’s a bit reminiscent of solo ’70s George Harrison, and with little twang that owes more to Duane Eddy than Sneaky Pete Kleinow.
It’s really the ease of Stewart’s singing that puts these songs over the top. In “Just Be Sweet,” he maintains a fine balance of relaxed execution and depth of feeling. Another way of putting it, is that the singing impacts the ear without strain. But there a gradations to the intensity, as “Can’t Break Through” packs a considerably harder punch, loaded with riffs and with beaucoup slide action.
There’s even a little organ, which carries over into “Tragedy” and reinforces that Heartland-Southern aura. It’s a fitting lead-in to “New Highway,” which hits a sweet spot that’s more than a bit redolent of Wilco, a similarity that on first listen casts what came before in something of a new light. It’s to Stewart’s credit that on subsequent listens, Slow Life shakes free on the comparisons and stands on its own.
GRADED ON A CURVE:
A-
