Boca Chica always has made music that’s hard to describe. Is it folk or Americana, alternative or alt-country, or simply, a little bit of all of the above?
The release of a new album, “Get Out of Sin City,” will muddy the waters further about the Boca Chica sound, but that’s a good thing. The new songs are so versatile and compelling, they’d sound good at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville or the Whisky A-Go-Go in Los Angeles.
“I had a couple of different ideas going into recording of it, but I wanted the basis of it to be a 1970s country bar band,” lead singer Hallie Pritts says. “To have that be at the core, to literally record the bass, drums and guitar (that way) … But to also have it a little more out there, overdubs and more detail, things you wouldn’t think go with that kind of band.”
Boca Chica will release “Get Out of Sin City” on Saturday at Brillobox in Lawrenceville.
The album title evokes Gram Parsons, the legendary musician who was a member of the Flying Burrito Brothers, and the “The Gilded Palace of Sin” album. Pritts notes those similarities, but says her influences for this release were different.
“I do like Gram Parsons, but I think, for me, the influences were more Neil Young, Loretta Lynn and, definitely, the first ladies of country, like Dolly Parton and older Bobbie Gentry,” she says.
Pritts is supported by a stalwart cast of musicians. Susanna Meyer (bass, flute vocals), James Hart (pedal steel, banjo, mandolin, keyboards), Ricky Moslen (percussion), Kraig Decker (keyboards) and j-vega (guitars, various other instruments and production) are the core members, but other musicians from the region also contribute. Notably, the band employed Cello Fury, the Pittsburgh-based group that blends classical music with rock for a few numbers, and covered “You’re the Blues,” by Nik Westman & the Central Plains. Greg Dutton of Lohio designed the album’s artwork.
“We’ve always done the collective thing,” Pritts says. “But we have this core of six.”
Boca Chica might not have the highest profile at home, but they’ve done well in a few areas across the country and in Europe. The song “Lake Erie” from the 2009 release “Lace Up Your Workboots” charted on radio stations in Knoxville, Tenn., and Asheville, N.C., and on Stanford University’s radio station. Another song, “Shake Your Party Dress,” earned airplay across Europe.
There are a number of songs on the new record, especially “Marlene” and “Dear Audrine,” that would fit into any number of radio formats. It’s just a matter of the right programmer selecting the right song.
“I feel like no one can really ever answer the genre question about themselves,” Pritts says. “Really, it depends on who’s listening. If Americana people hear it, and they’re real Americana people, they’ll say that’s not real Americana at all, but they like it. And indie rock people will say we’re a country band, but no one who is a country person would say we’re a country band. I’m not quite sure where we fit in, but that’s OK.”
Additional Information:
Boca Chica CD release partyWith: Donora, The Slow Reel
When: 10 p.m. Saturday
Admission: $8 (includes a copy of the CD)
Where: Brillobox, Lawrencevlle
Details: 866-468-3401 or www.ticketweb.com
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