Here is the latest single from Scottish singer-songwriter and AUK favourite Dean Owens. ‘After the Rain’ was originally recorded with Owens’ band The Felsons back in 1996; it’s a timeless song of love and hope that feels as fresh and relevant now as it ever did. This new version was recorded during the sessions in Tucson for the forthcoming album ‘Sinner’s Shrine’ alongside Joey Burns and John Convertino of desert-noir rockers Calexico. Owens says of the song: “One of my oldest songs, originally known as ‘Shine Like the Road After the Rain’, inspired by an Ansel Adams photograph. I was strumming away on my nylon string guitar one day and started singing it . It felt right again. New and fresh. I made a demo and sent it to Joey. He got right back to me and said ‘you have to record this one.’ I’m so glad we did.”
Ruth Barrie of Waltzer Films has created an atmospheric video with footage of Tucson shot by Nicki Young. We see Owens travelling through gorgeous desert landscapes interspersed with images of shrines in a moody accompaniment to the song. Over a gentle strum, Owens’ distinctive, characterful vocal rises and falls through a beautiful melody in an absorbing song that was a late addition to the new album. The highly-anticipated ‘Sinner’s Shrine’ is a journey through the desert panoramas, lives and stories that have intrigued Owens. Created with musicians from Calexico and other guests, such as Grant-Lee Phillips, the record has been much delayed but is now confirmed for release on 18th February.
Owens says of the new album: “To see ‘Sinner’s Shrine’ finally getting its release into the world is a very special moment for me. Working with the guys from Calexico on this record in Tucson was a magical time, a time before lockdown and the pandemic. We recorded it out in the land of the Sonoran Desert and it almost feels like it’s been buried in the sand for the past eighteen months or so. It’s time now to brush away that sand and share with everyone.” Joey Burns of Calexico adds: “There’s something to be said for chance meetings of musicians when they travel, and the story behind ‘Sinner’s Shrine’ goes deep into the heart of what happens when there is openness in both sides to share and connect. One of the standout moments for me working on this album was finding out how well Dean’s and my vocal blended. It reminded me that the world is small and that our link through music, regardless of our background, highlights the fact that we are all more closely related and that these bonds are still good medicine for these times.”
‘After the Rain’ is a beautiful song to round off the new album. Enjoy.
Great song.