Crave On Fights the Doldrums in ‘Rust Under the Hood’ [Fresh Track]

Crave On — the trio of Patrick Orr, Kate Richi and Bryan Hench – is among the most thoughtful and creative rock bands in Music City, and that’s saying something. Ace on the Outspeaker, the band's fourth album overall and first full-length of original songs since 2016, is set for a digital release on Friday. 

In an email to the Scene, Orr explains that Ace benefits directly from the group’s work on their 2017 album Evergreens, which features reimagined songs originally collected on Harry Smith’s landmark 1952 compilation Anthology of American Folk Music. But the advantage didn’t come immediately, nor quite in the way that he expected. “Those songs were so good and sturdy,” Orr says, “that I wasn't sure what I could write that could follow up ‘John the Revelator,’ ‘House Carpenter,’ Carter Family songs, etc. I wrote and discarded lots of songs and felt a little stuck.” 

That led to writing with Richi for the first time, and the four songs that resulted from their working together (of a total 12 on the album) are outstanding. Today, we’re very pleased to premiere one of them: “Rust Under the Hood.” As contributor Edd Hurt notes in his Critics’ Pick on the album release party tonight at the Springwater, the record harks back in some ways to The Velvet Underground’s third LP, in a way that feels like a kind of folk music of the unsettled present. 

The lyric was inspired by some experiences Orr and his bandmates had in July. Those include their tour van being written off — it survived a highway accident, but suffered from extensive rust — and Orr’s conversation with an acquaintance about acupuncture healing partial facial paralysis caused by nerve damage. But stepping back, the snapshot of a few events conveys a bigger story about the stress of getting by in a difficult time. 

“When I read the lyrics for the verses,” says Orr, “I think of wanting to do something or go somewhere, but not being able to and feeling like the chance is slipping away. So kind of the feeling that comes with writer's block or just not having time to do your thing, but then with some light at the end of the tunnel.”

Give it a spin below, and head to the Springwater for the show, which kicks off at 9 p.m. Saxophone and electronics ace JayVe Montgomery and inventive folk-rocker Kyle Hamlett will also play. Keep an eye on the Facebook event page for updates on the show, and look for the album on Crave On's Bandcamp page on Friday.