COUNTRY DESIRE
Longing, illusion and emotional consequence converge on a record that embraces instinct over certainty, where country traditions meet personal mythology without losing sight of honest songwriting.
Interview by Glitch & Gold
Some records reveal themselves while they're being made. Others only begin to make sense once the final note has settled. For this artist, Country Desire became that kind of album, one where recurring themes of longing, identity, work, romance and transcendence surfaced naturally before eventually revealing themselves as the emotional thread connecting every song. Rooted in the landscapes of South Texas and Southern California, and shaped by a deep reverence for authentic storytelling, the record resists polish in favor of instinct. It is country music that leaves room for mystery, vulnerability and the imperfect beauty of human experience. In this conversation, we explore the moments behind Country Desire, the creative partnership with Shooter Jennings, and the philosophy that continues to guide a songwriter determined to let the songs speak for themselves.
01
When The Record Named Itself
Country Desire feels deeply rooted in longing, illusion and emotional consequence. At what point did you realize those themes were becoming the emotional backbone of the record?
“Definitely after we made the record. When you’re writing you’re just letting them pop out one after another. You try not to over analyze, let the cards fall as they may. Once we went into the studio with Shooter and Co it was clear. I remember sitting next to him at the soundboard saying “wow I think I just found the title for this record, ‘Country Desire’. “”
Pull Quote
“You try not to over analyze, let the cards fall as they may.”
02
The Cheapest Form Of Therapy
You’ve described being drawn toward “the rush of a poetic life” even when it came at the cost of stability. Do you think songwriting helped you escape those patterns, or simply understand them better?
“Yes because songwriting is the cheapest and freest form of therapy”
03
Blue Collar Liberation
There’s something very physical and blue-collar inside your writing, truck drivers, cowboys, working hands, highways, bars. What is it about those worlds that continues to pull you creatively?
“I grew up around those people and I will always be inspired by them. But, especially the ones who take it all and transcend it, not physically, but creatively, emotionally and intellectually. Transcendence. Blue collar liberation kinda thing. When work has become a drudgery or something to dread, the ones who escape it, like the character Cool Hand Luke, they hold a special place in my soul.”
Pull Quote
“Blue collar liberation kinda thing.”
04
Every Part Of The Same Story
Your music carries traces of mariachi, rancheras and classic country all at once. Growing up between South Texas and Southern California, did you always feel culturally split between worlds?
“I never felt split. I actually never thought twice about choosing between the two worlds. But, I’ve had to be cognizant about authentically integrating every single part of my identity into my art, because I’m first and foremost a songwriter and everything else just adds.”
05
Living Inside The Mystery
Shooter Jennings reportedly wanted to make a record with you purely off instinct, before labels or budgets entered the picture. What did he immediately understand about your music that others maybe missed?
“Shooter lives in the Mystery. Not many people do. When you meet someone else who does, it’s kinda like: well, this is obvious, this is meant, this is going to work. That’s how I felt when I met him. A musical brother kinda thing. He also understood the songwriting and vocal uniqueness of it all. He has vision and he has reverence for what’s in front of him. That’s all it took. I’d never felt that before.”
Pull Quote
“He has vision and he has reverence for what’s in front of him.”
06
Leaving The Edges Untouched
A lot of modern country feels polished to the point of emotional safety. Country Desire feels willing to leave rough edges exposed. Was protecting that honesty important while making the album?
“It was. That’s also part of what connected Shooter and myself. It was important that we didn’t make sanitized music. That doesn’t do anybody any good.”
07
Completing The Circle
Your work often lives between romance and reckoning, where desire can feel both beautiful and destructive. Why do you think you’re so drawn to that emotional gray area?
“I think it was a place I used to think was courageous to live in. And maybe was until I’d be taught my final lessons. I needed to complete the circle.”
08
The Bullseye Of A Lifetime
You’ve spent years moving through indie folk, poetry, Americana and now a more country-rooted sound. Does this album feel like a reinvention, or more like finally arriving at yourself?
“It feels like arriving at the bullseye of my life. Whatever was hiding has now come to light, from my voice to my writing. It’s all here now. It’s all taking up every inch of space it was supposed to.”
Pull Quote
“It feels like arriving at the bullseye of my life.”
09
Emotion Followed By Vision
There’s a cinematic quality to your imagery, smoke, highways, motel lights, ghosts, mirrors. When you write songs, do you think visually first or emotionally first?
“I’d say my emotions are immediately followed up by vision, like sometimes milliseconds. So close it can be hard to discern what came first. My visuals come fast for video or content or whatever. I try never to over analyze them because they’re always rooted from an instinctual place. So, again, in a world where most music has gone through being sanitized to the point of no return, this process stays away from that on the visual end.”
10
The Backbone Inside The Songs
You’ve already shared stages with artists like Charley Crockett, Jason Isbell and Rodney Crowell, while building a world entirely your own. What kind of artist do you hope people see when the mythology finally falls away?
“I write all my own songs in a world where many artists on the top of the charts are using AI or using 6-7 writers on a tune. To each their own, and I could care less about how they arrive at their work. But I hope people they see the backbone inside the songs I write and record. I hope they feel it viscerally and the implied message that says it’s all inside of you. You’ve got this. The rest is just noise.”
Pull Quote
“I hope people they see the backbone inside the songs I write and record.”