Produced by four-time GRAMMY-winner Steve Berlin of Los Lobos, “Emily” – the latest single from Alex Jordan’s upcoming LP – finds the Bay Area native enlisting a bluesy horn section for a groovy track about finding comfort in someone who truly understands you. Glide Magazine featured the “infectious” song saying it “bounces with the revelatory musical instincts of The Band alongside the breezy California harmonies of Jackson Browne.” “Emily” is the second offering from Jordan’s new LP Queen Kerosene, produced entirely by Berlin and set for release on March 8, 2024 via Andy Logan Productions. Currently, Jordan is on tour supporting The Band of Heathens, and will play Seattle tonight. See below for a full list of dates or at alexjordanjams.com.
Stream “Emily”
“Six months or so before we started to work on the record, my friend Matt DeScala sent a demo of a pop crossover song called ‘Emily’ he’d been working with but felt stuck on,” shared Jordan. “I asked him if I could rework it, feeling that the chorus melody suggested a more R&B feel. After a handful of long sessions together, we created the story and structure as it is now. In the studio, the track begged for a horn section to be a melodic foil to the lead vocal and playful guitar line.”
Queen Kerosene was recorded at The Finishing School in Austin, Texas with a band of Austin-based musicians — including harmony singer Carrie Rodriguez and accordion player Josh Baca (the protégé of Norteño icon Flaco Jiménez). Jordan has already shared the album’s incendiary title track and its nomadic music video, directed by award-winning duo Neilson Hubbard & Joshua Britt (John Prine, Jason Isbell). So far, the track has earned praise from Guitar World, DittyTV, The Alternate Root and Magnetwho called it “rootsy” and “groove-saturated.”
Jordan and Berlin captured the album's songs in a series of live takes, emphasizing the chemistry of the players in the room. The result is a quintessentially American LP composed of barn burners, piano ballads, Americana anthems and adventurous explorations of organic roots music. Like the artists and songwriters the record pays homage to – namely Buck Owens, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Hayes Carll and Robert Hunter – Jordan’s new music is timeless in its sound and its songwriting, and his songs tell the stories of the people who have, who do and who always will inhabit this land we call home.
Jordan may be a fresh face when it comes to his solo career, but he’s spent the better part of the past decade playing with West Coast bands like Midnight North, fronted by Grahame Lesh. His ability to play guitar, piano and Hammond B3 organ landed him onstage with Bob Weir, Phil Lesh and Peter Rowan, becoming a fixture at Lesh’s Bay Area music venue Terrapin Crossroads. Now, Jordan has developed a sound that is entirely his own, resulting in a kaleidoscopic LP that pulls from soul, Tex-Mex, groove-driven R&B, Americana, jazz, honky-tonk and heartland rock & roll.
Queen Kerosene Tracklist
1. Queen Kerosene
2. Blue
3. Emily
4. Green Tends To Fade
5. Welcoming Call
6. Made To Fall Easy
7. What’s Become Of Me
8. Tidefall
9. Canyonland
10. Saving Grace
Tour Dates
11/6 - Portland, OR - Polaris Hall ^
11/8 - Seattle, WA - Tractor Tavern ^
11/9 - Boise, ID - Treefort Music Hall ^
11/10 - Salt Lake City, UT - The State Room ^
11/11 - Flagstaff, AZ - Orpheum Theater ^
11/19 - Sausalito, CA - Sausalito Cruising Club
^ - supporting The Band of Heathens
