The Vanities are just passing thru

Cardiff band team up with Welsh country star.

New single from south Walian electro-pop duo who formed in Cardiff in 2001 sees them veer off to the dusty roads of Country Music for a collaboration with one of UK country’s biggest stars.

I do not class myself as a Country Music fan. But of course that’s not quite right, is it? There is plenty of country music that is important to me. Willie Nelson’s Red Headed Stranger, Dylan’s Nashville Skyline, and you wouldn’t get Dylan without Guthrie, and Dylan also reminds me of Emmy Lou Harris’s work, which reminds me of Gram Parsons, of course, and obviously the Fabulous Burrito Brothers; then there’s Johnny Cash’s American Recordings, his “Man in Black” years (notwithstanding his music when buddying-up with God’s-own conman Billy Graham), the Highwaymen, including Waylon Jennings and Kris Kristofferson and… back to Willie Nelson. There’s no doubt plenty of others in between who have contributed significantly to my musical life. So, yeah, not a fan.

So, what is it about country music that casts such a counter-factual shadow? We must admit too that country music is part of the holy trinity of “roots” music that underpins much of rock and pop, alongside Blues and Folk. It’s there, inescapable, almost… whisper it… essential.

It comes down to one thing in the end… the kitschy clichè. Be it big hair and rhinestones, or guys n their trucks, the cringe factor is deep in country music’s history. But deep too is the craft, artistry, and legacy of the artists I named above. And that sticks.

Country Music, and it’s cooler cousin “alt-country” (which may or may not be an evolution of “Americana” - it’s not so easy to keep up with all these tags), has had a foothold in Welsh pop for a long while - just think of Gruff Rhys’ love affair with Americana for an obvious headline example. But hearing the Vanities (Rhys Bradley and Adam Hill) soften to it was quite a surprise. The last time I heard from them was when Chloe Edwards reviewed their album 2001 very favourably for Wales Arts Review in 2021. There were few signs of the lurch to CM in there.

I asked Rhys Bradley what inspired The Vanities to turn to countyr music for their new record?

There was no particular desire to make a country record or a new record at all for that matter.  The new single was birthed in a quick and spontaneous outpouring of grief and emotion following the sudden passing of my family’s beloved 9 year old golden retriever Sulley.  As such, it’s something of a meditation on the impermanence of life, the importance of making the most of what we have and valuing the simple things (which is something dogs are very good at!). So I think the song being somewhat out of keeping with my usual output was down to the formulaic approach being completely absent in place of a stream of consciousness on a good old acoustic guitar.  It was immediately evident that the song had something of a country/gospel feel to it so I decided to embrace that to the fullest extent, hence getting legendary Mississippi-based pedal steel player Reggie Duncan to add his magic and the Nigeria-based Epoch House gospel choir to do likewise (both thanks to the wonders of remote recording).  It’s worth adding that this project started in October 2023 so it’s definitely Beyonce who has jumped on our bandwagon rather than vice verse! : )

And how did you come to collaborate with Bob Fitzgerald?

As per the track having a definite country vibe, I was immediately hearing Bob’s voice on the song as I wrote it.  And as much as my ego told me that I could provide a vocal befitting of the track, my head told me otherwise and so I reached out to Bob who has put out some great music in recent years and established himself on the UK country scene.  I’d never met or spoken to Bob previously but fortunately for me he loved the track and laid down a vocal that was everything I hoped for.  Bob has that authentic country voice and gravitas as a storyteller which was just what the track needed.  I think he nails the essence of the song and gives it a real emotional weight.  And so it was that The Vanities left their electro-pop roots and entered the world of country music! : )

“Just Passing Thru” is a luscious record, though, replete with weeping pedal steel, foot-tappin’ drums, and a big bold impassioned backing vocal line from the Epoch House Gospel Choir that’ll have your hips swinging. Award-winning country star Bob Fitzgerald is a dominant presence at the front of the song, his vocal almost too finely poised, his expression so crisp and clear you could eat a cow pie off of it. But that’s country for you. “Just Passing Thru” has Fitzgerald as the freewheeler, the man in the stetson looking off into the distance, can’t pin him down, can’t tie him up. That voice is a big personality, and you can hear why he has become such a huge success on the UK Country scene. Like so much country music, in the end, “Just Passing Thru” might have a greater effect on you than you’d like it to.

You can find out more music from the Vanities and purchase the new single via their bandcamp.

Gary Raymond is a novelist, author, playwright, critic, and broadcaster. In 2012, he co-founded Wales Arts Review, was its editor for ten years. His latest book, Abandon All Hope: A Personal Journey Through the History of Welsh Literature is available for pre-order and is out in May 2024 with Calon Books.