The Milwaukee-based band’s debut album, Poor Pretender, draws influence from classic country, folk, Americana, R&B, and even punk. It’s terrific.
Courtesy of SJF Public Relations ~ album release date October 28, 2022
NEW YORK – September 16, 2022 – The Milwaukee-based band Long Mama weaves tall and not-so-tall tales of mountain manhunts, doomed honeymoons, stalled engines, and gravel roads into an experience as captivating as the landscapes that songwriter Kat Wodtke has traveled. Their new album, Poor Pretender (Oct. 28), presents a haunting 10-song journey through wide-open spaces and tight spots, with a collection that explores loneliness and love, harm and healing, resistance and resilience. The band’s next single, ”Half Love,” is out today; it’s about outgrowing old habits and deciding to nurture the relationships that make us feel like the best version of ourselves.
“Sonically, “Half Love” has the kind of arrangement that will make you want to close your eyes and let the groove take you. It’s the kind of laid-back, bluesy, guitar-heavy music that is perfect for a relaxing day in the sun.” – Outsider
Previously released singles include the album’s title track, which opens with the hum of a bowed upright bass and slide guitar, diving into the tension between how we want people to see us versus what we actually are, between stubborn independence and secret need; as well as “Clean Break,” which posits the idea that the cold, hard truth is often a healthier alternative to ghosting.
“The talent of this band is just kind of a really perfectly done kind of country, indie folk. Kat Wodtke, she’s just a terrific vocalist.” – WUWM
Made up of Andrew Koenig on guitars and Nick Lang on drums – both of Ryan Necci & the Buffalo Gospel – along with Samual Odin (Horseshoes & Hand Grenades) on upright bass and Wodtke on guitar and vocals, the band’s debut album, Poor Pretender, draws influence from classic country, folk, Americana, R&B, and even punk. The band and engineer Erik Koskinen produced the album, featuring Eva Nimmer on backing vocals and Koskinen on lap steel, electric guitar, and Wurlitzer.
Each song blisters with heart and grit, showcasing the band’s particular ability to conjure the beautiful in the broken, the silver in the ore. Shimmering below the surface of each song is Wodtke’s lived insight into our human faults and fissures: the moments in life when we can slip and lose our footing — or claw our way out, better people on the other side of the canyon. The album reveals Wodtke’s interest in what shapes (or twists) people into who they are. “A Long Mama is a small, spiny cactus,” Wodtke explains. “It can survive cold and prefers shade to sun. It’s also fragile. If cared for properly, it can yield bright yellow flowers. The human mind is just as tough and delicate. So many people find themselves on a ledge between breaking or enduring. How will we emerge from hard times?”
