The wait is finally over.
One of the fastest-rising stars coming out of the independent country scene, Charles Wesley Godwin, is back with his first major label release. Godwin returns with four brand new songs off of his upcoming album, Family Ties, slated for a Sept. 22nd release. After signing with Big Loud Records back in March, many were curious when the Cranes of Potter singer would release his first song under the label.
Godwin took to Instagram on Tuesday to tease the song’s release with the simple caption, “8.4.23”. Though he gave no title for the track, many of his dedicated fans quickly realized that it was going to be All Again, a song that he has played live at nearly all of his shows during his current tour. This coupled with the fact that he released an acoustic version of the song exactly one year ago to the date had all signs pointing to All Again being released.
However, what fans (including myself) didn’t realize is that he was going to release an additional three songs; Family Ties, West of Lonesome and Cue Country Roads. Hardcore fans of Godwins will recognize these songs from past Youtube videos and shows much like the aforementioned All Again.
Family Ties will come in at 19 tracks and just over an hour in runtime, containing previously teased songs such as The Flood, Dance in Rain, 10-38, Miner Imperfections and Skyline Blues.
In the Instagram caption announcing the new music, Godwin says;
“Writing and recording Family Ties was the most enjoyable creative experience of my life. It’s the rawest, most personal music I’ve ever made. I hope this handful of songs tides you over well enough so that we can let as much of the world know about this album as possible before its release day. I’m so proud of this album and cannot wait to share it with you! Thank y’all for the support.”
It’s clear that Godwin is playing to win with the release of these four new tracks. They’re absolutely stellar, traversing different traditional sounds while simultaneously feeling unique. Family Ties, a very lush fiddle and piano-heavy song about his dedication to his family, sounds equally as good as Cue Country Roads, a rockin’ track about missing the roads he grew up riding. As for All Again and West of Lonesome, they once again prove how stellar of a writer Godwin is with West of Lonesome being the standout lyrically.
Listen to the four brand-new tracks here: