Any Good Demon by Sterling Serpent

Western music isn’t all “Happy Trails” and “Home on the Range”. Traditional songs like “Cocaine Blues”, “Coyotes”, and “Streets of Laredo” all cover themes of death, isolation, and fighting for survival in the extreme conditions found on the frontier. And on his debut album Any Good Demon, Sterling Serpent draws from these classic motifs to create a somber outlaw sound that can only be described as Western Goth. With twangy acoustic guitar and lap steel backed by darkwave synthscapes, Sterling Seperpent paints a picture of haunted desert plains, prodigal sons, and ill-fated lovers. David Alexander Nelson’s deep baritone is complemented with ghostly backing vocals to create a rich sonic environment with a grave atmosphere, as auxiliary percussion adds even more regional character to this release. Tracks like “The Desert” almost slip into a psychedelic doom sound, hypnotic riffs dripping with reverb. Like a shadowy lone ranger, Sterling Serpent gallops off into a blood-red sunset, and we’re glad to be along for the ride.

- Kalen