If you’re not yet familiar with Zach Russell, you will be very soon.
The East Tennessee native held a lot of jobs while he was living in Nashville. He served as a manager of a shoe store and as a karaoke host, and also worked as a carpenter.
Oh, and he also spent some time working as the merchandise manager for Tyler Childers.
But eventually Russell got tired of trying to make music in Music City and left Nashville to move back home. And ironically, that’s when he found what he needed to really establish himself as a force in country music.
He’s spent some time touring and writing, and it’s all lead up to the release of his debut single today, a 7-minute rollercoaster called “Born Again.”
Speaking on the song, Russell reflects on being “born again” in both a literal and metaphorical sense:
“Born Again is once again me wrestling with the religion of my youth. It is stating a different definition of the phrase that I was given as a child. I don’t believe we are “Born Again” for the next lifetime, but over and over again for this one.
Redefining this term that caused me great harm in my childhood in a way that brings me comfort today has been so powerful for me.
There is a literal and a metaphorical way I view this. In one way we are Born Again by each passing moment and how it affects us.
In my life I am constantly being changed by moments in ways that make me a better husband, make me love my wife deeper, make me more patient and kind with the people in my world and make me view the Earth as the most beautiful and sacred thing we have. We are earth and Earth is us.
We are also Born Again in the sense that we are made up of material that is billions of years old and will leave us and change forms for billions more. I find great beauty and peace in this thought. It is an inarguable truth and helps me remember my size and scope in this insanity we inhabit. It’s just life. Ya know? Soak it in while you can.”
The song starts out as a hard-driving, rockabilly reflection on the meaning of being born again, before transitioning to a psychedelic conversation with Jesus about being reincarnated as a tree – something that Zach says wasn’t originally supposed to be a part of the song:
“The second half of the song was not part of the vision going into the studio. We recorded the first half and then the band started messing around with a different version. We quickly decided it had to be a part of the record somehow. We mashed them together and I said “What if I wrote a third verse about going to heaven and telling Jesus I wanted to come back as a tree?””
It’s unlike anything else in country music right now – which is what makes Zach such a compelling artist.
And along with the new single, Russell has also announced his debut album, Where the Flowers Meet the Dew, dropping December 1.
Full disclosure, I’ve already heard the full album, and it’s one that brilliantly shows off the range that Russell has, not only in his songwriting but in his music and sound, and it’s one you’re not going to want to miss when it drops.
The thought-provoking lyrics and masterful storytelling, along with his tight sound that’s far beyond most freshman releases, makes this one that’s going to be up there with the best albums of the year, and that’s saying quite a bit for a debut album.
Mark your calendars for December 1 – but until then, check out Zach’s debut single, “Born Again.”
