Mark Pickerel: SXNW

All it took was a trip through the New South for local hero Mark Pickerel to be inspired. His new record, Cody's Dream, is being described by his label, Bloodshot, as a "Steinbeckian odyssey through modern America." Pickerel's last album, Snake in the Radio, was one of the most engaging roots records I'd heard, mostly because he conjured up so many mythic vibes surrounding the west; the dustiness of places like Ellensburg, Washington and Bakersfield, California, and the darkness of, say, North Bend or Aberdeen. I've said it before, but it was like a David Lynch flick set in a honky tonk. For Cody's Dream, his label promises "static-y ghosts of Motown, Tin Pan Alley, classic pop, and soul" It'll be available March 4. And I cannot f'n wait!