John Vincent III heads west on contented new single “Bluebird Singing”, releases Songs for the Canyon
John Vincent III has released his sophomore album Songs for the Canyon in tandem with a new music video “Bluebird Singing”.
The album is “difficult to put into words” for Vincent, because it’s “simply who [he] was for close to three years”.
Lyrically, it sees the Texan singer-songwriter chronicle the journey he embarked on with his partner across eight states – an expedition inspired by not being able to tour during the pandemic.
On “Bluebird Singing”, Vincent roams from Houston to “Californ-I-A” on a carefree road trip over what seems to be an endless summer.
The track is painted with slide guitars and warm backing vocals, anchored by percussive guitar strums and the shakers that bridge them, and recalls twenty-tens folk-pop with its stomp-and-clap percussion and unabashed tweeness.
“I’ve heard this song before but I don’t recall who it is that’s singing” sings Vincent on the second verse, “so I took a walk to the ladies of the canyon”.
Whether he’s meeting with a group of canyon-dwelling women or ambling with Joni Mitchell’s third album in his ears is unclear, but both are equally likely.
“Bluebird Singing” echoes Ladies of the Canyon’s moments of Boho-folk catchiness (“Big Yellow Taxi”, “The Circle Game”), and the line at hand is underpinned by a group of female backing vocalists.
The single is just one of twelve tracks on Songs for the Canyon, which is both his first album since 2019 and first to be released under the label Concord.
Since breaking through with his debut four years ago, John Vincent III has amassed as many listeners on Spotify as there are people in his native Houston – 2.3 million.
“I suppose SFTC is a self-exploration and acceptance of what I found, a representation of my life as it was. Making this album turned out to be far more difficult than I had ever anticipated, but I’ve grown so thankful for all that I’ve learned in the process. In the canyon, much like our lives, there is sunlight and rain. I hope there is a song here for whatever your day may bring.”
Words By Harrison Jones.
