The Shootouts - Switchback
Switchback opens with an instant classic, Trampoline, drawing you in immediately with catchy hooks that resonate with anyone riding the trampoline of life. Skip to I'll Be Damned (feat. Vince Gill), and you are on another fast ride where "I'll never let you break my heart". One song leads right into the next, with Sam Bush opening Switchback (sitting at number 5) with catchy riffs on mandolin and equally fabulous guitar work. The entire album takes you on a journey about relationships, from the excitement of newness, the thrill and highs of getting to know one another, to the ultimate betrayal of the end of an era. Your Love (I'm Afraid Of) tells a story about how "you keep saying for the longest time, you'll never break a heart like mine" but "I've got my doubts".
About making the album, Humber says “I wanted to make sure that we kept our mission statement in place. We are a band that very much focuses on country music and the roots of that genre. But with every record we’ve done, we’ve shown more of what we can do. And Switchback feels like the beginning of a new chapter. In fact, it might sound more like us than any of our other records.”
The Shootouts recorded Switchback right on the heels of finishing a 24-state tour, harnessing the momentum (and creative energy) from the road in the studio. Eager to switch up their collaborators, the group worked with producer Dan Knobler (Bahamas, Allison Russell, Lake Street Dive). “Dan thinks about country music differently than other people we’ve worked with,” Humbert says. “And that was a big part of our shift, talking to Dan and saying, ‘We want to make a different record.”
The Shootouts first cut basic tracks live at the legendary Sound Emporium Studios and then spent a week at Knobler’s studio, Goosehead Palace, doing overdubs. “Dan was helping shape these songs alongside us,” Humbert says. “It wasn’t like we were on the battlefield, and he was still on the ship. He was right there in the trenches with us.”
Stephanie Smith