The blossoming virtuosity of Tennessee Backwater holds the potential to be a game-changer for the genre. Tennessee Backwater boasts a full band lineup, but their core revolves around the trio of Blake Daniels, Hunter Elder, and Bo Elder. The Elders first fell in love with live performance singing in church while Hunter also picked up the fiddle. He’s since branched out into playing mandolin and guitar. Bo learned guitar by ear rather than through schooling or lessons. Their lifelong friend Daniels soon started contributing his burgeoning vocal talents.
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They’re joined by Christian Trice on electric guitar, Jaylon Flagg on drums, Darrien Taylor playing keyboards, and Brandon Springfield manning the bass. The array of musical influences Tennessee Backwater can bring to bear at any given moment imbues their recordings with an expansive and inviting sound that holds up under repeated listens. Their prior single releases, “Tennessee” and “Riverside”, show this, and the new release, “In God We Trust”, exhibits how far they’ve come since then.
Their ability to slip into a quasi-rock mode without sacrificing their core sound is notable. You can’t easily pigeonhole Tennessee Backwater. “In God We Trust” is full of the grit and gravitas of Southern ferocity, the Elders and Daniels clearly mean every syllable they sing, and Tennessee Backwater’s video for the song will expand its visibility. The clip is very meat and potatoes, albeit with an artful polish, and never smacks of DIY shortcuts. The band’s trio of voices, the Elders brothers and Blake Daniels are superb physical interpreters of the material, as well as vocal.
Their unabashed confidence as singers is clear. These are likely three young men who have been singing far, far longer than Tennessee Backwater has been a going concern, and we’re just now getting the chance to hear their immense skills. Their phrasing is boisterous without sounding striding and remain attentive to the music from beginning to end. There are ample differences, as well, in the way Tennessee Backwater presents its respective voices to prevent “sameness” from creeping into their sound.
The music merits that statement. There’s plenty of muscle driving “In God We Trust”, but Tennessee Backwater isn’t catering exclusively to the lowest common denominator. Their adept use of dramatic structuring further enhances the song’s firepower without ever deadening its musicality. “In God We Trust” packs ample wallop and never sounds heavy-handed.
It has a strong lyrical message as well. Some may dub this a politically themed track. Many themes and sentiments Tennessee Backwater expresses during the song are abiding observations and complaints endemic in modern American culture. Many of us feel as if the nation has turned away from common sense approaches to life’s issues, and individual sanctity, as well as respect, are bigger pipedreams with each passing year.
However, Tennessee Backwater is skillful. Telling imagery works its way into the song’s video. The track never browbeats us into supporting any specific person or organization. It’s American to its core. “In God We Trust” reminds many of us that young musicians are still willing to testify about the importance of those ideals.
Garth Thomas