Sounds | Bones Owens - Don't Nobody Wanna Be Alone
- John Van de Mergel
- 28 sep
- 2 minuten om te lezen
Je zou stilaan denken dat ik het zo ondertussen wat heb gehad met al die singer-songwriters die onder de noemer 'americana' te schuiven vallen. Ik heb hetzelfde gevoel hoor, tot ik dan weer eens op iemand val die me weet te raken. Bones Owens deze keer. Op Best Western, zijn meest ambitieuze project, gooit hij ook blues, southern rock en flitsen psychedelische garage punk in de mix. Uit dat derde album pikte ik Don’t Nobody Wanna Be Alone, een laid-back, bluesy song met wat psychedelische vibes. Bones Owens speelt zelf zo goed als alle instrumenten en nam ook de rol van producer op zich. Julian Dorio (The Whigs, Stephen Wilson Jr., Amanda Shires, Eagles of Death Metal) neemt de drums voor zijn rekening. Paul Moak horen we op de Hammond B3 en keyboards.
Best Western is verschenen op 19 september 2025 via Thirty Tigers.
Luister ook naar: LIVE from South Central Correctional Facility
Lees
"Best Western is a hybrid of my confessional, introspective side—usually reserved for EPs—mixed with the energy and bravado of my full-length rock records. It’s a roller coaster ride of highs and lows, a soundtrack to the open road.”
At the heart of the album is the title track and most recent single, “Best Western”, an epic narrative that juxtaposes myths of the old wild West with a contemporary tale of a returning war veteran who takes to a life of crime. Featuring Yelawolf, the song had its roots in a Georgia hotel of the same name, which is where he demoed the record.
The album also features standouts like the hard-driving “In the Wind,” the speeded-up cautionary tale of the morning-after “Old Time Low” and the aching melodic ballad “Sunday Fix,” about both a frayed relationship and the toll of a touring musician, frustrated at a lack of recognition. Elsewhere, Owens combines apocalyptic twang (“Time Bomb”), metallic grit (“Demolition”), and existential acceptance of fate (“Pay No Mind”) into a story of addiction, guilt, and finally, redemption.
Having toured the world, supporting world-class musicians like Yelawolf, Jelly Roll and Mikky Ekko (Rihanna, Teddy Swims), Owens has carved out a reputation for blending heartland rock grit with introspective storytelling. Following his self-titled solo debut in 2021 and 2024’s Love Out of Lemons, he now unveils his most ambitious project yet with Best Western.
Dubbed “Bones” by his grandad because of his scrawny build, Owens grew up on a corn and soybean farm in rural north-central Missouri before finding his path as a Nashville-based songwriter, guitarist, and genre-defying artist. He grew up listening to country (Johnny Cash, Hank Williams, the Statler Brothers) and the gospel of his church, and Best Western takes these influences into an album that is timeless yet deeply contemporary in its eclectic style.
