By Reed Heath

Ryan Davis and the Roadhouse Band hail from St Louis, Kentucky, and are led by their namesake, Ryan Davis. They recently released their sophomore album, New Threats From the Soul– and since it dropped, it has completely consumed me. It should be consuming you too, for a lot of reasons.

The album spans seven songs with each averaging around nine minutes, though you don’t notice it from the way they move. These aren’t long songs that drag, they are stories unfolding with a purpose. Davis is a part of this growing wave of alternative country singer-songwriters focused on the craft of storytelling through music. While names like MJ Lenderman and Waxahatchee are often mentioned in this space, Davis has been quietly leading the charge for nearly two decades. As a member of different bands and founder of the independent record label, “Sophomore Lounge” he is the epitome of the “your favorite artist’s favorite artist” archetype–and he’s finally getting the recognition he deserves.

One of my favorite novelists is Harry Crews. Most of his books are out of publication now, so finding one is like uncovering a treasure. His style of writing defined the genre often referred to as “Grit Lit”–gritty literature rooted in strange and misunderstood portrayals of the American South. When others think of the South, they may picture SEC football, frat houses, or tired redneck stereotypes. But what writers like Crews did and Davis continue to do, is paint a far more complex and beautiful picture–one that is darker, funnier, and weirder than the old clichés allow.

Crews created characters like the man in his novel Car who enters a contest to eat an entire Ford Maverick, bumper to bumper, on national TV. That same off-kilter, Southern-gothic tone shines through Davis’s lyrics–like the line from “Better If You Make Me” where he sings, “I’ll start flipping through clippings of Modern Martyrdom Quarterly Classifieds just to find me something to die for.”

What is happening in this genre right now is exciting– not only as a listener, but as someone who has spent their whole life in the South. There is something powerful about embracing your roots, reframing them and making them your own.

So do yourself a favor: find a Harry Crews book, listen to Ryan Davis, and become a fan–just like me.

Dirty South Hero

84 Seasons