GARRETT OWEN RELEASES NEW LP QUIET LIVES
Backed by protean instrumentals, the Texas-based troubadour juxtaposes gritty past experiences with present-day observations...authentic stories and everyday paradoxes within a broad spectrum of musical stylings. - Newsweek
Garrett Owen is a consummate artist, with lyricism beyond his years and an inimitable playing style that has him earning new fans all over the place - NPR
After a life of travel and introspection, Owen may have finally found his place after all - Dallas Observer
A sound akin to the more melancholy side of Jesse Malin, Owen brims with a mixture of mourning and understanding...Lyrically the award-winning songwriter cuts a swath a mile wide as he tells the all too familiar tale of love lost on a six-stringed road - American Songwriter
Owen grew up around the world, notably Africa and South America. Those emerging economy environments give him a perspective not many of us have. They also contribute an appreciation for many musical styles and you can hear that spirit of adventure weaving its way throughout Quiet Lives - Twangville
One of his most expansive creations yet - V13
A sweet, uninhibited heartland record whose songs are a vessel of feeling, relief, and rejuvenation - Atwood Magazine
Garrett’s unusual upbringing sparked a curiosity; one that has carried into his adult life, and is presented through the lens of musical experimentation...consider us intrigued - Underground Music Collective
Usually the word raw is used to describe songs that are stripped down, vocals almost breaking from emotional strain…Garrett Owen reminds us that a musically pure track can carry a ton of feeling - Mother Church Pew
While the lyrics let you into his soul, his almost upbeat delivery shows the determination that saw him through a troubled time. - Chimeo
Folk, Americana, with a tinge of glam - comeherefloyd
Like listening to Brian Wilson, or Jeff Buckley, hearing Garrett Owen’s very personal music for the first time feels almost like an intrusion. This Texas-born singer-songwriter is into world-building. Here’s album oriented indie rock worth your time - Alt77
Another refined slice of Americana - Beehive Candy
LISTEN: QUIET LIVES
Today, Ft. Worth, Texas-based singer/songwriter Garrett Owen releases his new album Quiet Lives, garnering support from The Boot, American Songwriter, The Bluegrass Situation, The Dallas Observer, KXT, and more. Though he revisits familiar subject matter such as the push-pull of relationships, love, and loss, Quiet Lives is about growth, informed by the perspective gained from his unique life experience.
Instead of Little League and sleepovers, Owen’s earliest memories involve frequent trips across the Serengeti and backyard wildlife most of us only experience at our local zoos. The son of church-building missionaries, he grew up in Tanzania and Kenya, riding on the luggage rack of the family’s Nissan Patrol, with vast clear skies above him and gazelles running beside. After leaving Africa, the family completed a stint in Ecuador before Owen’s parents moved the family back to Texas. Life as he knew it became a difficult endeavor; rimmed with the sharp edges of reality in an unfamiliar place, his attempts to settle into a culture he didn’t understand resulted in distress and a suicide attempt - a far cry from the idyllic landscape of his upbringing.
The golden-voiced Owen, who has shared stages with artists like Parker Millsap, Charlie Sexton, and Marty Stuart, created a diverse nine-track collection in Quiet Lives - one that delves into more experimental musical territory, as Owen toyed with complex chord changes, melodic dissonance, and intriguing storylines. “My relationship with technology and connection to nature are a new combination in my songwriting,” he says, as evidenced in the album’s lead single, “These Modern Times.” Its blend of folk-tinged finger-picking, synth-infused verses, and anthemic pop choruses illustrate the juxtaposition of old and new as he contemplates the ups and downs of our constant and instant access to digital information. “Hour In The Forest,” which begins as a dreamy folk-pop tune that explodes into searing, Queen-esque guitar rock in its second half, was inspired by two women - one, a potential love interest, the other the bearer of an unforgettable tattoo, while “No One To Save You” ventures into familiar territory as he revisits a past relationship that couldn’t withstand the pressures of life on the road. “I Must Be Evil,” a quirky tune wearing the uniform of a murder ballad, tells the story of vigilante justice. Owen even pays homage to the late great Waylon Jennings as he puts his unique and jazz-folk spin on Jennings’ 1977 tune “The Wurlitzer Prize (I Don’t Want To Get Over You).”
Quiet Lives is available digitally at iTunes and Amazon Music. The album is available at Bandcamp digitally and on vinyl. Be sure to catch Garrett Owen performing live from The Boot’s Facebook and Instagram accounts on Saturday, September 19th at 7pm CT.
QUIET LIVES TRACK LIST
No One To Save You
Weakest Hour
The Wurlitzer Prize (I Don't Want to Get Over You)
Bleedin’ Through My Shoes
Hour In The Forest
Souvenir
Family Of The Year
I Must Be Evil
These Modern Times
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