Parker Ainsworth & Jessie Payo Release “Black Smoke” 10/28/21
Photo By Courtney Barriger
BIO
Parker Ainsworth and Jessie Payo gained traction with the song “House a Home (Running for So Long)” which he wrote for the Peanut Butter Falcon soundtrack in 2019.
With over 4 million streams on Spotify alone, it’s pretty clear people wanted to hear more. Over the early days of the pandemic, the two wrote a slew of songs in Joshua Tree California and as the songs accumulated, some began to share a similarly haunted feel.
Time passed, and a year later the pair reconvened, wasting no time to get into the studio and track an EP. Recorded live in a single day, mixed that weekend and shooting the cover art that following Monday, their process valued raw immediacy over polished perfection. The result is a visceral collection of songs that seem to walk with in the moonlit shadows of western spaces. Three of the songs are originals Payo and Ainsworth wrote together, the fourth is an obscure Walter Schumann cover from the 1955 film “Night of the Hunter.”
*Of the bunch, the title track, “Black Smoke” and second track “Not One Soul” are the strongest.
Sounds like: Shovels & Rope, Civil Wars, Gillian Welch and David Rawlings
Track Listing
Download .WAVS
*All songs radio friendly (albeit dark)
Liner Notes
Produced and Mixed by Chris Schlarb of Big Ego Studios
Engineered by Devin O’Brien
Fiddle/piano: Phillip Glen
Drums: Stephan Hodges
Mastered by WhyNot Jansveld
Cover Photo by Courtney Barriger
PRESS
“Black Smoke, a four-song country-blues, badland-gothic journey through dark alleyways, strange sights and lonely yearnings underneath a star-filled sky.”
- BuzzBandsLA
“Running for So Long (House a Home) is featured in The Peanut Butter Falcon, the Folk/Americana soundtrack of the year.”
- No Depression
“the ballad (Fire Swing) highlights Ainsworth’s intoxicating vocal tenor and knack for melody. Drawing from both personal experience and universal truths, the track is a gutting proclamation reminiscent of roots icons John Prine, Blaze Foley and Gillian Welch with elements of more contemporary favorites like Robert Ellis and Aaron Lee Tasjan.
- Folk Radio UK