Rod Gator- "Pinkville" LP

(Blue Elan Records)

Like the soundtrack to a movie that doesn’t yet exist, Rod Gator’s Pinkville whips up a world filled with shellshocked war veterans, gun-wielding rock & rollers, and other down-on-their-luck characters, mixing cinematic details and electric guitars into its own version of greasy, gothic Americana.  Pinkville, his fourth release, displays a stunning diversity. There are psychedelic soul songs, Rolling Stones-inspired rockers, tributes to icons like Freddy Fender and Tom Petty, and a cover of Bruce Springsteen’s “57 Channels (And Nothin’ On),” all captured in analog sound by co-producers Adrian Quesada and Will Walden. 

Recorded in a series of live takes in Adrian Quesada’s Austin-area studio, Pinkville blurs the lines between roadhouse country-rock, Texas blues, Louisiana soul, and all points between. It’s haunted-sounding music for the heartland.