Our recent Silverball Country Awards – “The
Silver Balls” saw us recognise Lars Pluto as our Male Singer of the year. His Georgia accent means that anything he
sings will always sound country, but with Lars it goes much deeper than that –
as his new singe “Dear Country Music” explains
Starting off as a country lament this
song very quickly - having firmly established
the theme - kicks up a gear into a very up tempo country number, with the unmistakable traditional sounds of tick tock percussion, fiddle and pedal steel
There can be no doubt when listening to
this that not only is Lars the real deal in terms of his country sound but also that he believes strongly in the country
sound being the Real Deal - there's certainly nothing electronic on this
track, just traditional country sounds for a country song lamenting and
demanding to know how and why the music that is called country music seems to
have changed so much
Through the song Lars switches from
questioning and mocking the almost plastic country fan image of trucker and
trucker cap to pleading with country music for an answer, for an explanation
for the change from the old days, for what has perhaps been lost
If you want to know how country music
should be Lars will tell you throughout the song - the themes, the instruments,
the style - but it doesn't come across as a lesson, it doesn't come across even
as ranting because “Dear Country Music” actually comes across as a feel good
look back at traditional country music. I first heard Lars sing this live and
felt from that first time that it is very listenable - you cannot listen to
this without tapping your foot and singing along, although with some of the
language used maybe don’t sing it in front of Grandma!
Lars himself describes the song as
“a letter to the greatest love of my life which seems to be
going through an identity crisis”
And reminds us
that
“somewhere right
now there's a honky tonk band tuning up and getting ready to pick and grin all
night long for the hard working and hard drinking folks who like to hear their
country music the way it's meant to sound. No snap tracks, no auto tune, no
sampled drum beats, no dishonest swindlers trying to sell us on how
"country" they are. It's three chords and the truth. So tell the
truth.”
Three chords and
the truth – the way Country Music should be?
Lars Pluto thinks so
“Dear Country
Music by Lars Pluto and the Reavers is released on Thursday 24 January – Lars’
40th Birthday
Now Y’all know
what to buy him as a present!
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