Some bands come together by accident, others by design. Canyon Lights feels like both. Formed by Pat Faherty and Tim Carman (formerly of GA-20), the project taps into a shared love of 70s rock ‘n’ roll, but filters it through the grit and sweat of years spent on the road playing blues night after night (I witnessed it; I am a fan for life). Together, they’ve built a sound that honors their blues background without being bound to it—full of fire, groove, and unexpected tenderness.

Breathe Easy, their first full-length album under this moniker, is heavier and more personal than anything the pair has done before. The lyrics wrestle with separation, loss, and the highs and lows of living out of a suitcase, while the riffs land somewhere between swampy Americana and hard-driving rock. Twelve raw but solid tracks—including an opera-tinged skit—full of experienced craftsmanship with a live feel, as real as it gets.

Breathe Easy, engineered and co-produced by Dylan Brown, is out now on CD and vinyl LP (self-released). On the record the basslines are tracked by Pat Faherty, but Nashville’s powerhouse multi-instrumentalist Heather Gillis completes the lineup to bring it all to the stage.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Canyon Lights