Hear Ryan Culwell’s Working Class Lament ‘The Last American’

Ryan Culwell channels his blue-collar sensibility into a gritty new acoustic ballad, “The Last American.”

The title track to Culwell’s upcoming third LP, “The Last American” is a sparse, gentle tune with only the faintest accompaniment, but lyrically gives a world-weary account of simply trying to get by and provide for one’s family. “I got my old man’s heart and broke-down Chevrolet,” he sings on the chorus, expressing disillusionment with how his small-time dreams have panned out. There’s a plainspoken honesty to the song’s sense of obligation, and Culwell himself has been busy working odd jobs since releasing Flatlands in 2015, having had two children (his third and fourth) in that span of time.

The Last American marks Culwell’s return after a hiatus from recording and touring, with one other new track, the up-tempo heartland-rock-meets-dream-pop “Can Your Hear Me,” previously debuting in June. The album drops on August 24th via Missing Piece Records.