Country Artist Swamp Doctor Releases New Single ‘Laura Mae’ With Accompanying Video Depicting Life In Self-Isolation
First Thoughts Review
Swamp Doctor has a voice that puts me in mind of 70's crooner/whistler Roger Whittaker, Its so deep and has the same comforting tone that brings back childhood memories for me.
In the narrative of this song Laura Mae reflects on the path that her life took. She feels alone and shut out by the world that is carrying on its busy way without her.
The instrumentation consists of keys, subtle understated strings and an acoustic guitar. Simple and un-busy. Perfect for this traditional sounding country song.
Due for release Friday 26th June to all digital platforms.
Introducing The Artist
London born country artist Swamp Doctor is due to release his new single ‘Laura Mae’ internationally on Friday 26th June through Silver Fox Records. Swamp Doctor is no stranger to the music industry having previously released tracks on Cherry Red Records (Dead Kennedys, Everything But the Girl) along with playing over 1000 shows in his career so far, including Guilfest (Main Acoustic Stage), Truck Fest (Supporting Chip Taylor) and Dingwalls where he met the legendary Lemmy (Motorhead) who was amazed by his performance.
He had this to say...
“I like it but the guitars were not loud enough”
Lemmy Kilmister - Motorhead
From a young age Swamp Doctor was exposed to a plethora of artist’s covering genres and styles ranging from 40’s Boogie Woogie to 70’s Punk and everything in between being something that helped him shape his music profoundly with The Specials, The Beatles and Chuck Berry being just a few of his influences.
‘Laura Mae’ featuring the haunting vocals of Alex Maclaine, follows the story of an older ‘lady of the night’ down on her luck watching the world around her, wondering how she got to this point. Swamp Doctor says ‘‘Laura Mae sounded southern & old fashioned for a fallen Alabama soul suffering still and seeing the dusk of life for all it means to her. I was inspired by the simple arrangement and harmony of southern folk songs, often with one guitar and two voices.’’ The video for the track is a hand-drawn animation by Hussam Aamir that depicts Laura Mae in a state of self-isolation as she contemplates life, her actions and how the world keeps turning without her engaging in it. ‘Laura Mae’ sounds like a country classic with a distinctive London twist. The centre point of the track is Swamp Doctors melancholic lead vocals and use of imagery throughout the track. Set behind a simple but effective country acoustic guitar melody. In Addition to Swamp Doctor’s extensive gigging, he has also written a number of tracks for various artists including Groove Armada (Common), Candi Staton (for her EMI Album) and Larry John Wilson.
‘Laura Mae’ is the lead single of Swamp Doctor’s self-titled debut album which compiles nearly 30 years of his back catalogue and features a handful of artists he’s worked with over his career. The album was produced by Sascha Panknin and James D Ingram over the course of two and a half years.
The Swamp Doctor’s debut album is due for release later in the year. Follow his socials for the latest information.