I have saved a doosey for Friday. Not to say the other bands and songs this week weren’t doosey’s in their own right it’s just that I’m particularly excited about The Apache Relay. How can you not be when their namesake is from the Disney movie Heavyweights?

I had a hard time deciding which song to post but went with the title track “American Nomad” because it means business from the outset and is immediately inviting.

American Nomad features multiple acoustic guitars, a mandolin, a violin, a fiddle, and various other acoustic instruments. Off that you may think “oh they probably sound like the Avett Brothers or Mumford and Sons.” Throw in the fact their debut album 1988 was produced by the same man who was responsible for the Avett’s most recent record and that they are opening for Mumford you would be right, but only half right according to the band.

“[The Avetts and the Mumfords] are acoustic bands with elements of rock,” says out Apache Relay fiddler Kellen Wenrich. “I have the feeling that we’re a rock band with elements of acoustic [music].”

So there you have it. They channelled their inner Springsteen. In finding the sound that was honest to them they would drive from Nashville to Alabama in the middle of the night just to listen to a record or two on repeat for hours. It was musical bonding for the band. Sharing ideas and loves. From Motown to Radiohead to Nebraska everything was on the table.

As for “American Nomad” the song was a true collaboration with a story that mirrors the Tom Hanks classic That Thing You Do. As lyricist Michael Ford Jr. puts it, “The song was originally written as ballad, but when I played it for the guys and they gave it a new life by speeding up the tempo and it quickly became the backbone and a favorite at our shows.”

That’s it folks. Have a happy Halloween and immerse yourself in the cloud below.

Here’s the official video for “Home Is Not Places”