Chris Maxwell Releases Beatlesque Americana; Solo Album Arkansas Summer

Solo Album Arkansas Summer

“Lush, layered but modest in delivery, the tracks variously evoke the Lennon piano ballad, the muted roots/pop maximalism of Wilco and some of that hushed and exquisite micro-melody that we associate with Elliot Smith.” – Almanac Weekly

“It’s a deftly crafted, multidimensional and musically stunning autobiographical journey…all wet with poetic pathos, evocations of time and place, compassionate character studies and hard-earned redemptions.” – Hudson Valley Almanac

“…crafting skewed, accessible, and determinedly original music” – Billboard

“…an invigoration pop mishmash that’s earthy, literate, and melodic.” – Rolling Stone

“…Little Rock’s finest export since Pharaoh Sanders” – Austin Chronicle

Upstate New York-via-Little Rock musician and producer Chris Maxwell is releasing his anticipated genre-spanning solo debut, Arkansas Summer. After success with bands The Gunbunnies, Skeleton Key, and years of working in production for shows like Bob’s Burgers and Inside Amy Schumer and artists like Iggy Pop and They Might Be Changes, Maxwell takes the wheel and gives us his side of the story – a personal collection of stories and character studies set to the tune of baroque Americana pop, with faint brushstrokes of funk, electronica, and blues. Arkansas Summer is available on CD and LP via Max Recordings.

Acclaimed writer Jonathan Letham describes the album, “Chris Maxwell musically channels the heart of Americana-pop — Big Star, Freedy Johnston, Wilco and the like — in crafting a song-cycle as personal as home movies with X-rays included. A beautifully poised grown-up album in an age that still coughs one up from time to time.”

Chris Maxwell picks up a thread that had gotten tangled and almost lost when the Little Rock-based songwriter and ace guitarist left home in the early ‘90s to weave together this collection of eclectic baroque pop gems. Arkansas Summer is subtle, brash, dynamic, and sonically adventurous, moving from gritty electro pop to barebones acoustic narratives, Lenonesque piano ballads, and lush roots rockers with expansive musical moves. Maxwell’s fertile imagination, production savvy, and the still-nervy guitar playing are on bold display across Arkansas Summer. But the point here, finally and again, is the songs.

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