Ags Connolly is rightly regarded as one of the best songwriters and voices on the UK country and Americana scene. The award-winning artist, from the English countryside of Oxfordshire, produces quality storytelling songs with timeless melodies, and he delivers them with perfect country vocals. Connolly’s latest video, ‘Overwhelmed’, is an aching barroom waltz that finds him reflecting on an emotional situation from the past. But the passage of time has not helped him to find clarity and understanding as we might expect. Instead, he remains just as immersed in the hurt, just as confused and overwhelmed. Connolly conveys the bleakness of the narrative through his heartfelt performance and his well-chosen words: “I walked on the street with a hole in my heart…I wandered for years circling back to the past.”
Connolly told AUK about the video: “When ‘Overwhelmed’ premiered as a single I said it was important to me that there was at least one barroom waltz on the ‘Siempre’ album. So when I knew I was teaming up with Lonely Road Picture Show for this video, it felt right to record that song in a barroom. Specifically, Fat Lil’s in Witney where I have played countless times. I was bowled over by the professionalism of Toby at Lonely Road Picture Show on the shoot, and I think UK country and Americana fans will see an awful lot more from him in future. US-based YouTube channels like GemsOnVHS and WesternAF have broken new ground in showcasing new artists via intimate performance videos, and Lonely Road are now doing the same here.” Indeed, this excellent live recording brings us closer to Connolly and the emotion of the song, making this personal narrative feel even more intimate, assisted by his spoken introduction, which reinforces the impression of a gig played just for us. The approach is direct and all the better for it. Lonely Road Picture Show really capture the authenticity in Connolly’s music and performance – find out more about their recordings here.
‘Overwhelmed’ is taken from Connolly’s recent album ‘Siempre’ (‘Always’ in Spanish), an outstanding celebration of Texas-style music that earned him an 8/10 review from AUK – check it out here. His fourth full-length album includes ten original songs that transport you across the Atlantic and to the border between Mexico and Texas – authentic sounds, instrumentation and feeling. Watch this and then absorb the album.
