County Show by St. Ove

Vinyl LP out now!

For years people had tried to convince John George Cooper to record his songs. But there was always something better to do. Like the night he was locked out and slept in a foxes den. Or that weird summer when a loophole made magic mushrooms legal and he spent his entire pay check on them. Or re-applying to the Natural History Museum for a job in their bat department.

The devil makes work for idle hands. Time’s a thief. And talk of rock stardom, forever daft, becomes ludicrous in the context of ‘proper’ jobs, debts, growing families and responsibilities.

But the songs kept coming. And in the summer of 2019, childhood friend, multi-instrumentalist, Steve Blackwell decided it was time to put a band together. He enlisted Dan Akerman on bass and Adam Killip on guitar. The music came quickly. They already all had their hooks in the same pond: Creedence, Magnolia Electric Co., Westerberg, Zevon, The Band, REM. A little bit Country a little bit rock and roll.

In late 2019 they headed to Greenmount Studios in Leeds and sought the talents of more old friends: producers Jamie Lockhart and Lee Smith. Over four days they recorded the songs that would become the album “County Show”

All they needed now was a name. Since it was Steve’s band how about... ‘Steve’? But there’s already a band from Athens, Georgia called Steve. So they settled on Stove. As Lowell George tells it: “I’ve had my head stoved in but I’m still on my feet”. Yes, Stove like the Lemonheads song. But of course there is already a band called Stove from Connecticut. Just when they thought hope was gone, along came St. Ove. The patron saint of lost time, wasted talent, old waves, silver-haired werewolves, dark secrets and last chances. Here to keep it going. Here to sing us all back home:

“It’s in the trembling voices. Parting of ways begun again. Like there’s a choice, like there’s a choice. It’s as old as a wave”

Tracklist

1.	White Swan	3:37

2.	La Sieste	3:33

3.	See You Later	3:56

4.	South Street Werewolves	4:43

5.	What I'm Digging For	3:20

6.	Old Wave	3:19

7.	Rain	4:12

8.	Foxglove	4:14

9.	Norwegian Spruce	2:34

10.	Painted Horses	4:59

Credits

released September 3, 2020

John George Cooper - vocals, guitar
Steve Blackwell - drums, percussion, guitar, organ
Dan Akerman - bass, guitar
Adam Killip - guitar, vocals
Lee Smith - percussion

Produced, engineered and mixed by Jamie Lockhart and Lee Smith at Greenmount Studios

Mastered by Carl Rosamond at RRS

Artwork by Jess White

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