Max McNown “Night Diving”

Fugitive Recordings/The Orchard, 2025

Max McNown’s second album builds strongly on foundations of debut.

Album art for Night Diving by Max McNownMax McNown is a singer-songwriter, originally from the Pacific Northwest but now based in Nashville after spending the early part of his career in Southern California.  McNown’s first release “A Lot More Free” came out in the summer of 2023.  With the first anniversary release, its title track went viral on TikTok gathering 80m streams.  He put out his debut full-length album “Wondering” in September 2024 and only two weeks later released another EP “Wilfully Blind” coincident with an appearance at the AMA’s AmericanaFest in Nashville.  “Night Diving”, his second full-length LP, is due to release early 2025 so he’s very productive.

Only 23, McNown has already been on quite a musical journey. Taking control of his future, overcoming personal challenges, and drawing inspiration from his brother who was bravely fighting cancer, McNown packed his bags and drove from remote Oregon to Southern California. From there, videos of him busking on a pier made an impact online and eventually grew into a big following on TikTok.   He has a string of sold-out US dates early 2025 followed by a set of shows in UK/Europe as well as dates in Australasia later in the year.

McNown’s style fits nicely into that of the currently popular singer-songwriters with elements of folk, country and pop interlaced into the ten songs that make up “Night Diving”.   He has the knack of making them sound familiar with plenty of hooks but with a lot of variety both in style and musical setting.

The album’s opening track ‘Azalea Place’ addresses resilience with a bittersweet melody, a nice, picked banjo in the mix and a singalong chorus. ‘Better Me For You (Brown Eyes)’ sees McNown switching registers between the verse and chorus with a big beat and a more electric backing.

The third track ‘Freezing In November’ is a softer acoustic led song with McNown adopting a more emotional tack as he compares winter with loneliness while strings add to the sense of loss.  ‘Hotel Bible’ has more of a country feel to the instrumentation and a nostalgia tinged with sadness lyric.

‘It’s Not Your Fault’ is underpinned with dobro and some swirling keys while McNown offers comfort to the song’s subject.  The vocal sets out with an intimate feel building to a banger of a conclusion.  Song number six, ‘Love I Couldn’t Mend’ is, as the title implies a song of regret for love lost.

‘Marley’ opens its story with life turning right down in the verse with a sweet harmonica followed by a shrug into the fiddle-led chorus as the singer “puts the needle on Marley” and lets “the good times roll”.  The title track is preceded by a train sound and has an echo behind the percussion and a twangy guitar providing the setting for McNown’s reflection on vulnerability and self-worth.

‘Roses And Wolves’ is a classic country song with dobro and fiddle both prominent.  Led in by McNown, he is joined in the second verse by Hailey Whitters and the two duet on the chorus “roses are still blooming in the springtime/ Wolves’ll sing their song up to the moon/ People fall and people love/ People pass on through/ Guess tomorrow won’t see me and you”.  An insistent high-hat leads into album closer ‘Won’t Let Me Go’ which in many ways wraps up the sound with its harmonica, fiddle and pedal steel interwoven as McNown declares love and fallibility asking, “just promise you won’t let me go”.

It’s not hard to see why McNown’s sound is so popular combining the anthemic and the intimate with sweet melodies and some big choruses which will translate well into some of the bigger venues he’s playing.

7/10
7/10

About Richard Parkinson 251 Articles
London based self-diagnosed music junkie with tastes extending to all points of big tent americana and beyond. Fan of acts and songs rather than genres.
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