160: Ken Pomeroy - Coyote (ft. John Moreland)

I stumbled upon John Moreland last year - highlighting his incredible Visitor LP in our end-of-year Curious Listening zine - with the caveat that I had no idea if he was a dusty cult voice hidden away in some Oklahoma bar room or a long-established veteran of the scene. I assumed the latter, and his recent feud with megastar Zach Bryan seems to affirm that.

His own work is understated and cracked at the seams, beautifully bruised country songs with a captivating eye for detail. Recently he's turned said eye away from the bright lights and toward the up-and-coming, lending his voice and spotlight to Ken Pomeroy, a new voice in the game who has just released her beautiful debut album.

A 22 year-old, "proudly native American" songwriter, Pomeroy has the kind of voice that belies its age, able to drift in on the breeze carrying all manner of scars from loves lost and found, battles won and defeated. There's an honesty to her voice and songs, a palpable sense of integrity that's present whether she's bursting into song or shrinking into the shadows.

Recorded with her partner Dakota McDaniel, Cruel Joke, released last week, is a kind of miraculous debut, a beguiling mix of notable inspiration and natural, inherent craft that could have been released any time in the last half a century. Equally compelling whether its full of sunlight or lost to the night, the duet with Moreland stands out; a yearning, heavy-hearted ballad pulled right out of the plains, lit by the moon and covered in dirt and dust.

Buy the album on Bandcamp

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