Authenticity is a word that gets thrown around Nashville a lot. Sometimes it’s in reference to dive bars (is—insert bar—really a dive bar?); sometimes it’s in reference to clothes (does—insert name—really dress like a cowboy all the time?); but mainly it’s in reference to music. Especially in the case of Southern music, people here want to listen to—and be apart of—something they perceive as real. Something that isn’t a contrived, Epcot-esque take on blues or country—something they can actually believe.
If their latest single, “J. Walker Blues,” is any indication, we think The Minks are something blues-rock aficionados can believe. Pulled from their upcoming debut LP, Light and Sweet (out in the fall via Cafe Rooster Records), “J. Walker” is a thudding, gritty stomper of a tune that’s held up by “Five to One”-y groove. It’s also got resilient lyrics that feel appropriate for an era in which everyone’s got the blues: “I might not be good / But you know I try / Instead of feeling like sitting here waiting around to die.”
It’s a song that urges people to wake up and, you know, actually live, and the single’s video reflects that. Shot at undeniably dive-y Dee’s Country Cocktail Lounge, the Houston Mathews-directed video is a single-shot visual that finds frontwoman Nikki Barber taking a shot of “Mojo” juice (we don’t wanna know), interrupting a game of pool, and slapping phones out of indifferent bar patrons’ hands. If this is a typical night in the life of The Minks—which it looks like it is—we say sign us up. Check out the video above, and keep an eye out for more Minks music this summer leading up to the record.
