Like so many bands that started as a solo recording project, American Wrestlers changed dramatically once Gary McClure brought other people into the mix. For Goodbye Terrible Youth—out November 4 on Fat Possum Records—American Wrestlers sound has grown from bedroom pop to a rock band that occupies a space somewhere between psych-rock and Americana. The A.V. Club is premiering “Amazing Grace,” which shows the band’s ability to find new ways of approaching a roots-rock song. In a way, it sounds a bit like the latest Cymbals Eat Guitars record, only with a political undercurrent running through it. Of the song, McClure says:
I wrote this song about having faith and having none. Being lonely in the bigger picture. The rewards and perils of Nationalism and religion. It’s about a certain shade of America, but really it’s an aspect of humanity which gets geographically pinned down. It’s about the election and the arbitrary shards we grab from the breaking chaos to glue together an identity. It’s about choosing misery over love as a solution to death
American Wrestlers tour dates
Oct. 1—Grove Fest—St. Louis, MO
Oct. 15—n The Woods Fest—The Woodlands, TX
Nov. 9—Exit/In—Nashville, TN
Nov. 11—The Pinhook—Durham, NC
Dec. 6—Great Scott—Allston, MA
Dec. 7—Baby’s All Right—Brooklyn, NY
Dec. 8—Boot & Saddle—Philadelphia, PA
Dec. 9—DC9—Washington, DC