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<\/a><\/p>\nMT. STERLING, Ky. — Get swept away by Swift Silver<\/a>\u2019s big river of sound with their self-titled debut album due out June 4. Swift Silver marks a meaningful milestone for Southern songwriters Anna Kline and John Looney as a 180\u00b0 (re)turn to their musical roots: the drawling tremolo of rhythm and blues, the redemptive strains of Southern gospel, and the twang of the rural soul.<\/p>\n From the moment the listener presses play; from the mid-tempo album opener, the vocally empowering \u201cBelleville Blues,\u201d to the last track, a reflective ballad, \u201cAin\u2019t Wrecked Yet;\u201d Swift Silver celebrates the tenets of Southern sound. This is a collection of songs cultivated in the dim lights of listening rooms and local jams, regional festivals and side street bars, as well as alone in the woodshed or crafted as an ensemble.<\/p>\n Kline\u2019s vocal performances\u2014on both lead and harmony\u2014display an astonishing range of versatility and skill, her voice flows as smooth as a rippling river current. Looney gives a masterful performance on lead guitar, not only displaying his expertise as an integral sideman but also as a talented arranger, showcasing a finely-tuned ear for nuance and groove. Together, they drive the contagious electric surge of sound that is Swift Silver.<\/p>\n \u201cThis album speaks to the path we tread. These songs help us navigate lingering questions we daily seek to answer, they pulsate with discovery, and melodically confess the hunger to right a few wrongs.\u201d — Anna Kline<\/p>\n Swift Silver is lyrically insightful, eloquent\u2014and timely when examined through the lens of current events. This is exemplified in the lyrics of \u201cBlackbird\u2019s Refrain,\u201d an energetic, Beatlesque track showcasing John’s slide guitar: \u201cThis world is coming alive to some strange times, we\u2019ve got to bend and sway together.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThere were several months of quarantine under our belt already, and I was constantly chasing sunshine. Anytime we could get outside, we\u2019d let the dogs play and soak it up. We always start to feel worn thin during the winter and long for warmer days ahead. And, with everything that was going on politically and pandemic-wise, we were really feeling the weight of it all.\u201d Anna says, \u201cThe lyrics are a literal bird\u2019s eye view\u2014if a bird, circling above the world and surveyed the chaos we\u2019re all currently living in, what would he have to say about it?\u201d<\/p>\n With the chorus, \u201cThe higher you get, the more that you see,\u2019 Anna says, \u201cI\u2019ve always loved how little revelations shift your mind\u2019s eye to perceive nuance in life and situations. And, as a person who has dealt with the life-long struggles of depression and anxiety, these little shifts in consciousness have added up to completely change my life. This past decade I\u2019ve been on a healing journey\u2026 and I have come out on the other side. Something I never thought I\u2019d be able to do.\u201d<\/p>\n Anna and John\u2019s collaboration spans ten years of exploring the great expanse of the American songbook\u2014touring, conspiring, songwriting\u2014fused together by the Mississippi heat, molded in the mountain air of Western North Carolina, and flung free in the hills of Kentucky bluegrass. Swift Silver has an unmistakable sound conjured from an intense musical intimacy and this new album embodies a new era of Southern rock and soul.<\/p>\n Swift Silver was recorded at Fat Baby Studios in the mountains of eastern Kentucky, enlisting the help of brothers Kenny Miles and Hayden Miles (of Wayne Graham). Kenny and Hayden not only comprised the album band\u2014adding bass lines, keys and organ fills, as well as a few harmonies\u2014 Kenny was also at the helm as engineer and co-producer. The album includes 8 original songs and an alluring cover of Carter Stanley\u2019s \u201cThe Fields Have Turned Brown,\u201d a purposeful nod to their lives as bluegrass musicians with some mighty powerful harmonies.<\/p>\n Other songs on the album include a not-so-average cheatin\u2019 song, the country soul \u201cWe\u2019ve Given Up On Us;\u201d the guitar driven and vocally riveting homage to Memphis soul, \u201cLooking Back;\u201d and the reflective cosmic country waltz tune, \u201cTonight, Forever Yours.\u201d<\/p>\n The pondering song, \u201cWe All Get Our Turn,\u201d has the lyrics, \u201cWe all get our turn\u2026 To be young and grow old\u2026 Asphalt or gravel\u2026 No, it don\u2019t matter\u2026 How you got here, the road you traveled\u2026 Ask yourself who is your master? Is this the life you\u2019ve been chasing after?\u201d<\/p>\n At the heart of the album, the high energy \u201cCome On Home To Yourself,\u201d steered by the fuzzed-out guitar lick that takes you back to Mississippi by way of Texas blues, is a love letter of sorts to \u201chome.\u201d Anna says, \u201cI was inspired from the stories my parents told me about my kinfolk who settled in Mississippi in the 1800s. When I go home we visit the cemeteries where they are laid to rest. I also felt inspired to draw the parallel between myself and the Mississippi River to illustrate my progression and personal growth, and how constrained the river might feel as men have tried to forcefully control her path all these years, as she meandered and, ultimately, flows her own way.\u201d<\/p>\n She sings, \u201cFashioned out of the mud\u2026 From the Coldwater bottoms… Who wants to walk the Straight and narrow? Seek not to be reborn\u2026 Behold I am the pearl\u2026 Bent, bowed, undertow, journey on\u2026 Find your way back home.\u201d<\/p>\n More about Anna Kline and John Looney:<\/p>\n For the majority of their band life, Anna and John were known as the bluegrass duo, Grits & Soul With a history of major festivals and appearances under their belt\u2014MerleFest, Bristol Rhythm and Roots, Suwannee Springfest & Magnolia Fest, Countryfest in Belgium \u2014and a performance on Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern\u2014the time came where they felt led to explore new (and old) musical space. Thus, Swift Silver was born.<\/p>\n