Back in June, we were ‘tickled pink‘ for the exclusive premiere of the first single ‘Fooling Anybody‘ from Cowboy Dinoasaur‘s upcoming album ‘Ford the Fjord‘, which is out tomorrow, August 21st on Rue Defense.
Today we are exclusively spinning the album in its entirety!
Cowboy Dinosaur is the brainchild of multi-instrumentalist Blake Hickey, and for this release took the project on a trip across the country, until settling in Protland, OR. This trippy feel is clearly audible to the listener, since ‘Ford the Fjord‘ is an album boiled with indie pop-rock ear candy melodies, holy guitar riffs, vigorous energy, well balanced, compelling vocals and an all-pervasive sense of freedom/escape.
Choosing two tracks from the album ‘Catalina‘ & ‘Fooling Anybody‘, Hickey notes: ‘never had this happen before … but then when I woke up I just kept humming the melody until I had a chance to go figure out how to play it.‘ (‘Catalina’)
‘most of the time you only think you’re fooling the people around you, but they likely still know you’re struggling with something even if they can’t say what.’ (‘Fooling Anybody’)
This is a step forward in Cowboy Dinosaur’s sound, and an album you should get your hands on… And break away from reality…
Press Notes:
For his sophomore release on Rue Defense, Blake Hickey took Cowboy Dinosaur on a journey. At first, loosely structured as a modern-day parallel to the Oregon Trail (echoed in the album artwork), Ford the Fjord finds Hickey chronicling his experience of moving across the country until finally settling in Portland, OR. Beginning with the feeling of being stuck and unhappy in his current setting, each song pushes toward the final track (aptly named after his adopted home) with a number of stops along the way for fruitful introspection. Dealing with issues of depression, grief, and social anxiety, Ford the Fjord is a personal record that serves as an artistic illustration of one man’s journey toward the future.
Bio:
The solo project of multi-instrumentalist Blake Hickey, Cowboy Dinosaur is anything but spare. Started as a bedroom project to ease feelings of depression, isolation, and social anxiety, Cowboy Dinosaur has morphed into a conversation about confronting those issues and the catharsis of music. Based in Portland, OR, Hickey has tapped into the communal energy of the area, and has become part of the music scene as a former guitarist for the band The Late Great and as the owner of a guitar pedal company, Blakemore Effects. Establishing connections within the music world and beyond has influenced Cowboy Dinosaur’s sound by foregrounding the need for personal interaction within our daily lives. Building on his debut 2019 LP, Hyperbola, Hickey pushes into new territory with over a decade of virtuosic guitar playing and lyrical introspection on his upcoming sophomore release, Ford the Fjord.