In Los Angeles, there are many reasons to self-title an album, such as it being an introduction, a definitive work, or an easy way to label a collection of songs. Luke Grimes, known for his role as Kayce Dutton on 'Yellowstone,' has self-titled his album as an important tool.
Luke Grimes' first country album, 'Luke Grimes,' released on Friday, is a bold statement that challenges preconceptions about him.
From a Nashville studio, the actor-musician expressed to The Associated Press that he aims for his album to establish his true identity and the authenticity of his music, striving to be genuine and truthful in his approach.
He believes that country music is most powerful when it is sincere, and achieving this honesty was crucial for his first album.
This personal openness contrasts with his role as an actor on 'Yellowstone'.
He explained that acting requires him to assume a different persona, speak someone else's words, and essentially escape his true self to convincingly portray a character.
Despite being his debut album, Grimes is not new to music. It has been a part of his life since childhood, from playing drums in church to being influenced by outlaw greats and country radio. His musical journey includes playing in a band and contributing to the film 'Outlaw Country'.
He emphasized that music has always been a significant part of his life and creative process, serving as a source of inspiration.
The album 'Luke Grimes,' produced by Dave Cobb, is at times personal, offering honest reflections on love, loss, God, and rural life. Grimes skillfully communicates universal truths, including the less favorable aspects, in his songs.
Grimes pointed out that country music often focuses on love, heartbreak, and hometowns, and his song 'Oh Ohio' achieves this while presenting a less flattering perspective of his origins.
He expressed that 'Oh Ohio' challenges the common portrayal of hometowns in songs, as it conveys a sentiment more akin to a breakup letter than a love letter.
He clarified that country music is not exclusive to the South and can also encompass rural areas, asserting that Ohio has its share of rural roots and is a fitting location for country music.
Aaron Raitiere, a songwriter for Cobb who contributed to two songs on the album — the slow-burn highway ballad “South on 75” and the Western stomp “Ain’t Dead Yet” — says Grimes has music in his soul.
“He may very well be one of the best songwriter/singer/performers of our generation, trapped in a superstar actor’s body,” Raitiere said. “If you go get famous making ketchup, it’s hard to turn around and make mustard and have everybody take you seriously, you know? But he’s great.”
On the upbeat “Ain’t Dead Yet,” with its sing-along chorus (“I’m gonna love you ‘till I die/And I ain’t dead yet”), clap-a-long percussion, campfire harmonica and hazy guitar pedals, Grimes shows a creative range associated with veteran artists.
“We were saying, ‘Wouldn’t it be funny to write a song, just as an exercise, if ( Nirvana frontman ) Kurt Cobain was country? Like, if he would have been born in a holler in Kentucky somewhere and hadn’t died early and lived to be an old man and had a wife and kids, like, what would those songs sound like? And that literally was how that idea started,” Grimes says. It’s impossible not to hear the connection in the opening power chords.
Raitiere adds the Nirvana inspiration also comes from their desire to write a song anyone can play. “A lot of people learn to play an instrument on a Nirvana song,” he says, adding that “Polly” was the first he ever learned. “So, we went the ‘Nirvana Unplugged’ route and threw it down a country lane.”
“That’s kind of the magical part of the whole process, that there are no rules,” says Grimes.
The other magic? Getting to reveal more about himself to his listeners — and, in the process, connect with them.
“Certain albums that have stuck with me through the years, it’s just kind of made me feel like there’s someone out there that I can relate to,” he says. “Whatever this feeling or emotion is that I don’t know how to articulate, someone else has articulated it really well and through music, and in a way that I feel like a connection to. And so, if I could just do that for some people, then I think that’d be mission accomplished.”
