Dirty Wonder [Audio CD] K Phillips

Description

K Phillips’ life could be a country song. He looks like a young Hank Williams and was named after Kris Kristofferson. Born in West Texas and raised by his grandparents in the Concho Valley, K’s grandfather was both a cattle rancher and a state criminal court judge. He started playing guitar and writing songs at age 5 and began playing organ and piano in bar bands at age 14. When K was 18 both his close friend and girlfriend died in separate drowning accidents. Reeling from these losses, he made the decision to pursue his own music. On his LP Dirty Wonder, K has truly found his voice – a combination of Tom Waits’ lyrical wit and Keith Richards’ slinky country-rock hooks joined with K’s unique, compelling vocal delivery. Recorded at 12th Street Sound to tape, with a few songs recorded at Adam Duritz’s house, and produced by Gordy Quist (Band of Heathens) and Beau Bedford, Dirty Wonder is comprised of ten tracks that are sonically cinematic and lyrically poignant. Conflating his personal experiences with the lyrical narrations of his songwriting character, the expected album surpasses American Girls (2012), his first full-length, and is nostalgic country that conversely creates a much more evolved artist. Selecting songs like scenes and committing to the part, K’s voice sounds more conscious than ever before on Dirty Wonder, and the smears of blues piano and fuzzed out guitars complement simplified harmonies and structures. The personification of the album’s concept lives in impressionable melodies that stay with you for days, as if his lyrics weren’t memorable enough. “When Gordy produced [the album] he was like, ‘you may have to fall back in love to get through these songs, to get through it vocally.’ It was very taxing…but that’s the only way to do it,” he recalled….“If you don’t know K Phillips, you should start now.” No Depression….K toured during the summer of 2016 as opener for Counting Crows and Rob Thomas for over 40 shows.