Ottoman Turks’ frontman and songwriter Nathan Mongol Wells recently announced he will release a debut solo album, From A Dark Corner, on August 18 via State Fair Records (PRE-SAVE HERE). Along with the announcement, Wells offered a preview of the forthcoming album with the slinking, hypnotizing first single, “Beulah Land,” along with a black & white Texas noir music video.
Today, Wells is releasing a second track from the forthcoming album, “In Years,” a distinctly different flavor of his roots-based songwriting style – LISTEN HERE. The nostalgic Americana tune begins with swells of pedal steel from Hank Early of Turnpike Troubadours, fingerpicked acoustic guitar, bass from James Driscoll, and Wells’ lonesome vocals – all of it framing the narrator’s plans gone right and wrong, a younger version of oneself long forgotten and naïve in their ambitions. The refrain of “Ain’t been that way in years” hits home, whether good or bad, on how change is inevitable and forever leaves a wake of dust over life’s best designed blueprints.
“I wrote the song when I first moved back to Dallas after working construction for a while post-college,” Wells says. “I was living at my mom’s house while trying to find an apartment and generally figure out the next step in life. It was one of those songs that came to me all at once, almost fully-formed, late one night. I had to write it very quietly in a bathroom, so I didn’t wake up anyone else in the house. But it definitely stems from that feeling of uncertainty at the time.”
Recorded, mixed, and produced by John Pedigo and co-produced by Turks’ member and emerging artist Joshua Ray Walker, From A Dark Corner expands Wells’ worldview of outsider Americana into a well-rounded set, incorporating moments of sonic variety and semi-autobiography: self-reflection, homegrown tradition, and fuck-it-all impulsivity. “First Day It’s Warm” is a celebration of winter’s end in Texas, supplied with references of adolescence (“freeze tag, dirty mags, Six Flags, and ice cream”), all crafted around Wells’ tenor vocals and a plucked acoustic guitar. Similarly upbeat, “Juarez” is a country ripper about going to Mexico with nothing to lose (“Gonna fill my hat with whiskey”) and features Turks’ Billy Law on bass. Wells airs grievances in “Rather Go to Hell,” a modern Southern rock take on Johnny Paycheck’s anti-work anthem “Take This Job and Shove It,” with background vocals from Walker and Pedigo on theremin and mandolin.
With uncountable raucous live performances under his belt and a little help from his Deep Ellum friends, Nathan Mongol Wells is primed for a busy 2023, including a full tour in support of his debut album. Find all tour dates here or below, with more to be added soon.