Myron Elkins - Factories, Farms & Amphetamines (2023) [Official Digital Download 24/96]

Myron Elkins didn’t set out to become a full-time musician. After graduating from high school, the then 17-year-old instead became a welder in his hometown of Otsego, Michigan and had every intention of making that his career. However, fate had other plans. Three years ago, a relative signed him up for a battle of the bands at a local venue, despite the fact Elkins’ only prior experience with live music was playing at church and a few bars in the small Michigan town where he grew up. With just three weeks’ notice, Elkins put a band together featuring three of his cousins and a friend. Although the group didn’t win (they came in second), the experience opened Elkins’ eyes to a very different career path.

Now, at 21 years old, he’s poised to become one of music’s most intriguing new artists with the release of his Dave Cobb-produced debut album, Factories, Farms & Amphetamines, via Elektra/Low Country Sound. Across the album’s ten tracks, Elkins crafts sharp observations informed by his working-class upbringing, infusing his music with rich personal experience. “I actually wrote a lot of these songs on the album in my head while I was welding,” he says. “I just loved to play and write all of the time. Finding people who want to do that with you isn’t always easy, but we made it work. And with this bunch of songs, it made it all worth it.”

For Elkins, songwriting is an intensely personal process. He actually finds it challenging to have emotional distance from his lyrics or write from the perspective of another character. Rather than being weaknesses, however, these qualities are strengths. The barnstorming title track and country-leaning “Wrong Side of the River” illuminate two sides of his upbringing and showcase his perceptive self-awareness. “Factories, Farms & Amphetamines” is a realistic look at what it’s like growing up and facing challenges, both from within your own family and because of your circumstances. “Wrong Side of the River,” meanwhile, encourages embracing where you’re from, because a supportive home life can make all the difference even if you’re not living on the so-called right side of town. Other songs are just as emotionally heavy. For example, the easygoing, soul-influenced “Hands to Myself,” which is a stark, empathetic portrait of what it’s like to face domestic abuse. Through these songs, Elkins conveys that two things can be true: Home can be an idyllic small town and a place with a dark side.

TRACKLIST

1. Myron Elkins - Sugartooth
2. Myron Elkins - Factories, Farms & Amphetamines
3. Myron Elkins - Hands To Myself
4. Myron Elkins - Mr. Breadwinner
5. Myron Elkins - Wrong Side Of The River
6. Myron Elkins - Ball and Chain
7. Myron Elkins - Nashville Money
8. Myron Elkins - Old Trauma
9. Myron Elkins - Machine
10. Myron Elkins - Good Time Girl



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