The Sideshow Tragedy

Press:

Like the unwieldy title of this debut, Nathan Singleton's music is a hodgepodge of ideas and sounds. Borrowing from a broad range of other artists can only work if you're either extraordinarily talented and/or possess the cojones not to care while spilling blood all over the place. While Borrowed Guitars owes most of its success to Singleton's attitude, his mix of Chris Whitley, the Waterboys, Dylan, and the Old 97's is unparalleled, at times joyous, otherwise hoary and dark. With producer Gabriel Gonzalez (ex-Sparta), the young Austin singer-songwriter has crafted a true album. Songs like the chugging "Prisoner" and the stifling gloom of "Cannibal Choir" are well at home in their surly blues and forlorn country. "After Love" meanders a bit, and closer "Prayer for a Woman" seems precious after what precedes it, but Singleton and company have created something that pegs him as a talent to watch. --Austin Chronicle

I’m still a sucker for lyrics on a CD that give me the power and courage to sing along. Songs about things I can relate to on a “knowing what they are talking about” level. I know all the lyrics of Bob Schneider, the Jayhawks, John Trudell and now I can add Nathan Singleton and His Sideshow Tragedy to that list. I went to the White Water Tavern in Little Rock the other night and saw them play, and I was hooked from the first song. Nathan Singleton’s voice is sweet and the country/rock twang is addicting. Some of the lyrics, all written by Nathan, have a wit and wisdom that shows off his openness to the universal voices. I hope they come by this way again soon. By then, I’ll have all the lyrics memorized.--Arkansas Free Press

ITINERANT YOUTH PRESS RELEASE:

"This is a record about movement, both literal and otherwise. It's traveling with a rock band, leaving where you are, wishing you were somewhere else, being homesick, or just changing your mind..."--Nathan Singleton and His Sideshow Tragedy

With their second album, Itinerant Youth, Nathan Singleton and His Sideshow Tragedy have firmly established their ability to appeal to a wide variety of music fans without resorting to kitchen-sink eclecticism. The tracks on the album showcase a wide range of styles, but it still feels truly cohesive--a factor which probably resulted from the record being recorded mostly live in one day, with minimal post-session overdubs. And most importantly for a truly great album, every song hits the mark. There are no lulls, no tracks you will skip when listening to Itinerant Youth in your car.

After touring much of last year behind their first record and sharing the stage with Alejandro Escovedo, Charlie Sexton, Guy Forsyth and many others, Singleton has returned with drummer Jeremy Harrell and bass player Justin Wade Thompson, as well as producer and collaborator Gabriel Gonzalez(Sparta, Sleepercar), who has wonderfully harnessed the raw energy and passion of the band–a band the Austin Chronicle has called “a talent to watch.”

Itinerant Youth opens with its title track, an atmospheric piece that truly foreshadows the sound of the band and the album – a twangy National steel guitar mixed with ambient backing guitar and concise, pensive lyrics. This leads into “A Pint of Whiskey and a Pound of Grace,” a blues/punk road song that echoes the experiences of the band on multiple cross-country tours since the release of their first album, Borrowed Guitars, Unwound Hearts, and Broken Strings.

“Pascal’s Wager” is a bouncing gospel-tinged rag that makes you want to clap your hands, complete with a choral backing and rollicking goodtime piano by Gonzalez, but a closer listen will reveal scathing lyrics worthy of a Flannery O’Connor story that lampoons the concept of salvation in evangelical churches across the Bible Belt. “A Few More Days” is a nod to early-70 Stones, and already a high point in the band's live performances.

The centerpiece of the album, “The Ballad of Stagolee and the Preacher Man” is the band’s take on a classic story of unrepentant violence that took place in St. Louis on Christmas Eve 1895. Versions of the tale have been recorded by the likes of Mississippi John Hurt, Lloyd Price, Bob Dylan, Woodie Guthrie, The Clash, and many others, but Nathan Singleton and His Sideshow Tragedy’s version lends the perfect gritty musical backing for the turbulent subject matter of gambling and murder. “The Fog in the City” is a bass-driven song that evokes visions of a noirish Americana – like steam vents on Brooklyn street corners.

With Itinerant Youth, Nathan Singleton and his Sideshow Tragedy have bottled their live-show lightning, a musical experience that lingers with the listener for days...which is never a bad thing when the music is this good.