“Wet & Unlucky”, an album by Tiger Saw and the Reasons Why
Dylan Metrano and Dylan Earl first met in 2018, when Metrano booked Earl and his band to play a show on Monhegan Island, Maine. Metrano was immediately captivated by the Reasons Why’s genuine, old-school country sound. They became fast friends, and after a return visit where the band performed in an old fire barn, Metrano proposed a collaboration between his band Tiger Saw and Dylan Earl and the Reasons Why.
Since 1999, Maine’s Tiger Saw has explored a multitude of sounds, from folk and slowcore to post-rock and funk. Dylan Earl formed the Reasons Why in Fayetteville, Arkansas in 2014, and they’re celebrated for their earnest and compelling songs. Both bands have toured extensively and internationally.
In December, 2019, they met up in the Colorado mountains, where pedal steel wizard Hamilton Belk recorded the nine original songs in his Roughly Nowhere studio. After a whirlwind recording they played the new songs at Denver’s famed Hi- Dive club to a riveted crowd. Later, Geneviève Beaudoin of the band Dead Gowns added her beautiful, ghostly harmonies to the album.
The songs highlight the strengths of both bands. Tiger Saw’s lyrical explorations are new takes on classic themes, referencing Hank Williams, Dolly Parton, and Silver Jews’ David Berman, who had passed just months before. The Reasons Why deliver their signature sound: loose, rich, classic country with nods to soul music and rhythm & blues.
“I’ve always loved artists whose music spans genres, and I was thinking about the classic country excursions of greats like Elvis Costello, Ray Charles, and Jonathan Richman when we made this record.” says Metrano. “Ultimately, I wrote the best, most honest songs I could, and this incredible band came in and did what they do best, and we now have this really unique, special collaboration.”
Recorded and mixed at Roughly Nowhere, Allenspark, CO by Hamilton Belk.
Additional recording by Geneviève Beaudoin and Luke Kalloch.
Dylan Metrano vocals, guitar
Hamilton Belk pedal steel
Geneviève Beaudoin vocals
Dylan Earl guitar, vocals
Dick Darden drums, percussion
Chris Wood bass, guitar on “Ellie Bean Strut”
Lee Zodrow piano, keys
- Wet and Unlucky
- The Moon Last Night is Gone Today
- I’m a YouTube Series, You’re Prestige TV
- All Dogs Go to Heaven
- A Civil War on Saturday Night
- Ellie Bean Strut
- Watching Reruns of our Love
- Night pt. 3 (Wonder)
- We’ll Always Have the Night
RIYL: Magnolia Electric Co., Silver Jews, Lambchop
TIGER SAW 