Natural Child

Natural Child, a Nashville, Tennessee trio, draw their greasy, good-time approach from Southern rock, vintage country-rock, easygoing Laurel Canyon textures, '70s boogie, a hint of hard rock, and what seems an even mix of liquor and bong hits, reflected both in the tiny pot leaf that bookmarks the band's official blog and in lyrics that repeatedly celebrate recreational marijuana. The group came together in 2009 when bassist Wez Traylor and drummer Zack Martin, fresh from departing the Nashville band Turbo Fruits, began putting the project in motion. Traylor later recounted that he secured longtime friend Seth Murray on guitar by repeatedly phoning him one night after overindulging in cannabis brownies; Murray accepted only on the promise that the new band would record and tour relentlessly, a commitment the three quickly honored. Within months of their first rehearsal they issued their debut 7", and over the next two years they performed more than 200 shows annually. Infinity Cat Records put out their cassette-only EP Bodyswitchers in 2010, followed by the full-length album 1971 in 2011. Two years later the trio joined the California indie label Burger Records, which released For the Love of the Game and Hard in Heaven in 2012. After absorbing hours of Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings while traveling, Natural Child sought a richer, more expansive palette and brought Benny Divine aboard on keyboards and Luke Schneider on pedal steel in 2013. That expanded five-piece configuration first appeared on Dancin' with Wolves, issued in early 2014. Burger Records reissued the Bodyswitchers EP on vinyl in 2016.