Tennessee native Joe Garner inherited the love for country music and a red polyester suit from his father Charlie, who played bass on the weekly concert broadcast Grand Ole Opry for 30 years. That’s how he started The Kernal, after the death of Joe’s father: “I thought, I’m going to put this old suit on and I’m going to be my own version of some of these country guys.” His new LP Listen to the Blood is the last of an album trilogy (the inherited red suit graces all record covers), which came about during a ten-year journey in which Joe wanted to prove himself as a musician, at the same time trying to tie together loose ends of the family history. The sound of the 9 new songs is fortunately not as dark as the somewhat disturbing and misleading cover photo and album title suggest. No, this is warm and uplifting contemporary Americana which is easy to enjoy. I’m curious what Joe will do now that he has dealt with the negative aspects of the past, because this project leaves you wanting more.
Listen to the Blood is out now digitally, on CD and vinyl LP through Single Lock Records
Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || The Kernal
Bonus:
Also check out the videos for two other standout tracks – the understated duet The Fight Song (featuring Caitlin Rose) and the groovy album opener U Do U.
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