Texas Country Supergroup the Panhandlers Debut With ‘No Handle’ [LISTEN]
The Panhandlers, a long-awaited collaboration between Texas country artists Josh Abbott, Cleto Cordero, William Clark Green and John Baumann, bring a vocal-swapping, steel guitar-accompanied sound with their debut single, "No Handle." Press play above to listen.
The song teases the newly formed quartet's self-titled debut album, out March 6 on Bruce Robison's The Next Waltz imprint. The project is available for pre-order now.
From the sound of things, Abbott (the Josh Abbott Band), Green and Baumann and Cordero (Flatland Cavalry) pay homage to similarly named regional legends the Flatlanders through songs honoring all four members' shared experiences as Southwest-based singer-songwriters. "The sound is a sonic landscape right out of a hot afternoon in Lubbock, Texas," says Baumann in the band's bio. "It's loose and warm.
"The lyrical pictures are all like something off an old postcard," he adds, "each one with its own story to tell, with the backdrops being little vignettes of life on the South Plains Panhandle region of Texas."
What began as a proposed cover band became a collaborative songwriting experience and bare-bones recording project for four seasoned artists. "There wasn't a computer in the building when we were recording, which was great," Green adds in the band's bio.
"It seemed to fit with the whole vibe of the album," he notes. "We wanted to release a collection of lonesome West Texas songs, with that inherent vibe of wind, dust and tumbleweeds."
Fans can learn more about the Panhandlers' plans at the band's official website.
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