Luke Winslow-King

The Coming Tide

Bloodshot

Street: 04.23

Luke Winslow King = Iron & Wine + Bill Callahan + The Builders and the Butchers

When it comes to contemporary roots music, the easy route is to punk things up—play it faster or with an edge—but roots music transcends time and period. Luke Winslow-King walks that fine line between slavishly authentic and radical change just for the sake of change. LWK has an almost sly lazy approach to this record that only someone who’s confident that what he’s producing can grab people without gimmicks can pull off. New Orleans plays a large role in King’s songwriting—you’re not beaten over the head with it, but almost every song has that gospel-meets-saloon feel to it. The slide guitar intro on “You & Me” conjures the image of a late juke joint night, and the rest of the song follows suit. The Coming Tide is a remarkable roots record that doesn’t try to be anything but exactly what it is. –James Orme