Luckily for us, Teddy and the Rough Riders have been burning up the Nashville underground over the past few years. With roots deep in psychedelia, the group stripped back all the trimmings to a Velvets rhythm section and steeped it in a Music Row dive bar for their own brand of country rock that is poppy, precise, well-educated and completely self-aware. What, then, would be the point of an exaggerated drawl or a convenient new interest in roping cattle? The Teddys' sound is country that, somewhat paradoxically, lives and breathes in the city.
So, it is fitting that their A-side single "I Found Somethin'" throws down a strong psych card, with bassist Ryan Jennings' vocals leading us through a vibrant and playfully painted scene filled with a can of worms, desk drugs and big wet dogs. The second track "Neon Cowboy," guided this time by guitarist Jack Quiggins, dives down a rabbit hole of self-reflection and social questioning, with Luke Schneider's atmospheric pedal steel and Nick Swafford's always-tasteful drums giving it real backbone. For fans of The Byrds, Link Wray and CCR. This one's not to be missed.
