The Weeks

with Spendtime Palace, The Vernes
Rowdy, Raucous, Longhair Mississippi Glam Rock.That's the sound of Easy, The Week's long-awaited followup to their breakthrough album,Dear Bo Jackson. Recorded at Ardent Studios in Memphis a place filled withthe ghosts (and gear) of the Replacements, ZZ Top, and Big Star, all of whom traveledto Ardent to create their own landmark albums Easy finds The Weeks doubling downon a mix of groove, grit, and guitars. It's swaggering and sharply-focused, shining newlight on a band of brothers who, although still in their mid-20s, have already logged adecade's worth of sweaty gigs together.If Easy bears resemblance to the raw, rowdy attitude of the The Weeks' live show, it'sbecause the album was written at the end of a busy, five-year period that found thegroup rarely leaving the road."We moved to Nashville in 2010," remembers frontman Cyle Barnes, who formed theband in Jackson, Mississippi, with his three longtime bandmates: drummer (and twinbrother) Cain Barnes, guitarist Sam Williams, and bass player Damien Bone. "We spent2011 to 2015 touring. November 2015 was the first time we ever spent an entire monthin Nashville."Those years on the road were eye-opening for The Weeks, all of whom were just teenagerswhen they began playing together in 2006. By their early 20s, the guys were touringEurope with Kings of Leon, promoting the newly-released Dear Bo Jackson in frontof 20,000 people each night. Back in America, The Weeks continued playing their ownclub shows, too. The experience taught them how to bridge the gap between arenashows and smaller gigs. In short, it taught them how to be themselves, no matter theaudience.Appropriately, Easy consolidates the band's strengths. While the songs on 2013's DearBo Jackson were thick with horn arrangements, strings, and guest appearances, Easyis a leaner, louder beast. The Weeks began working on its 11 tracks after returninghome from a long tour and taking some time to rest, reflect, and regroup. Newly energized,they began writing songs at Sam and Damien's home in Nashville, with Cyle andWilliams splitting the bulk of the songwriting duties. The whole process relied on collaboration,with the full band fleshing out the newer songs."Everyone would come to the house, make food, hang out, and play music 'til four in themorning," Williams remembers. "We wrote 25 songs, then picked our favorites for thefinal tracklist.Easy is driving and direct, captured in punchy sound by producer Paul Ebersold. Thegoal was to clear out any unnecessary clutter, focusing instead on The Weeks' biggeststrengths: the elastic power of Cyle's voice, capable of a crooning drawl one minute anda roof-raising howl the next; the range of Sam's guitar playing, from Motown-influencedchord stabs to garage-rock blasts of sound; and the interlocking rhythms of Damien andCain. They threw some curveballs into the mix, too, riding a lovely, lazy, organ-heavygroove on the southern soul song "Hands on the Radio" and punctuating songs like"Ike" with a small horn section. Along the way, they made good use the studio's vintagegear, finding room on a handful of songs for Elvis Presley's microphone, Big Star'ssnare drum, the "Green Onions" organ from Booker T. & the M.G.'s."We said, 'If we can do this song in five chords, let's do it,'" says Sam. "That way, wheneverthe curveballs do happen, they mean a lot. We focused on the songs first, and thenwe added stuff, as long as it didn't harm the energy or the groove. We wanted to pickour moments better."Inspired by the real-life characters, places, and stories The Weeks encountered on tour,Easy is a record about where the band has been, as well as a sign of where they're going."I wanted the stories to be real a little dark, maybe but I wanted them to beredeeming, too," says Cyle, who began turning the stories into proper songs once thetour ended. He tossed some personal tales into the mix, too, with songs like the autobiographical"Gold Doesn't Rust" focusing on the joy of plugging in, tuning up and rockingout."We just wanted to make a rock record," adds Damnien, shrugging his shoulders at thesimplicity of it all. The Weeks earned their road warrior credentials years ago, butthey've never defined their ambition or the wide range of their abilities this clearlybefore.And speaking of simplewhat's the deal with that album title?"We called it Easy because every time I make music with these guys, it's easy," saysCain, who has spent more than a third of his life as a member of The Weeks. "It feelsgood. But the other side of it is, there's nothing easy about being in a band. There'snothing easy about staying together for 10 years and still wanting to make music. Wehave the hardest and easiest job on the planet. But it works for us."
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