Clark Paterson - The Final Tradition (2015)

NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE — East Nashville resident Clark Paterson writes songs that are so raw and honest they will scare the pants off of you. Boasting a rough, anti-freeze gargling, world-weary voice, his new album, The Final Tradition, is gritty, intense, often dark, and certainly passionate. Paterson calls his blend of vintage country, punk and rock “Grindhouse Country,” a term that makes perfect sense.

Producer Eric McConnell (Todd Snider, Loretta Lynn, Will Kimbrough) centered his production around Paterson’s raw voice and songs using some of Nashville ‘s most respected indie scene musicians, including steel guitarist Paul Niehaus (Lambchop, Calexico), drummer John McTigue (Raul Malo, Brazilbilly) and Tim Carroll (Elizabeth Cook, Todd Snider). An experienced bunch, they scream out of the gate, such as on “Kansas Saturday Night,” a scorched earth rave-up that would recall The Slits or Social Distortion but for McConnell’s atmospheric production. Songs like “My Hands Know The Touch,” a Crazy Horse-ish waltz, on the other hand, demonstrate that Paterson’s friends can punch hard while deftly staying out of the way.

Paterson’s own sound has evolved honestly, inspired by everything from Neil Young to The Clash, Iggy and the Stooges and Bruce Springsteen. Growing up on the family farm near Sandusky, Michigan, Paterson attended college in Chicago before grabbing a guitar and backpack and heading to Europe, South America, Japan, Sweden and Finland to play country music. “I’ve been robbed, beaten, and deported,” he laughs. Landing in Nashville some seven years ago, Paterson has honed his “Grindhouse Country” to a razor sharp edge.