Shane Smith & the Saints Announce Anticipated New Album “Norther”
Few if any outfits in country and roots music can make their music rise to the epic and weighty level that Shane Smith and the Saints achieve through launching reverberative moments that you don’t merely enjoy, but experience deeply in a way that rings in your soul well after the final note has tolled.
It’s been five years since devotees of the Austin-based band have experienced this effect in album form, though they’ve had plenty of opportunities to take in these cinematic moments in the live context, not to mention seeing them in person on the hit show Yellowstone. But the time has come for a new album. To be called Norther, it will be released on March 1st, 2024. Suffice to say, it’s a highly anticipated one.
“We’d be on the road doing shows, and there would be a 48-hour gap where we’d fly into Dallas and try to record everything we possibly could, then fly right back to wherever the bus was. It was like that for the entirety of the recording process,” says lead singer and songwriter Shane Smith, whose barrel-chested baritone can ring like missives from the Almighty.
Joining the band’s namesake is the barefoot Bennett Brown on fiddle, guitarist Dustin Schaefer, bassist Chase Satterwhite, and drummer Zach Stover. Along with top flight musicianship, The Saints can also turn in four-part harmonies that you feel down to your bones, which helps underpin their blustery and emotional music with that much more meaning and mystery.
Beau Bedford produced the set, and even though Shane Smith and the Saints have sold out shows at prestigious places such as Red Rocks and the Ryman Auditorium, the hope is the new album will be the impetus to take the band to the next level.
“It’s like you can’t help but feel like you’ve paid your dues to get to a certain spot, but once you get there, you realize you’re just starting to touch the surface of the bigger picture,” Smith admits. “At the end of the day, it still feels like we’re getting discovered. But maybe that’s what it’s all about … If you spend 10 years playing dive bars and small clubs almost every single night, and you go to the merch booth after every show and hang out with the fans until the staff literally kicks you out, you get to turn those fans into friends. That’s how we built this thing.”
Followers of Shane Smith will already be familiar with some of the new songs. “Fire in the Ocean” was first featured on Yellowstone and released in 2022 along with the song “Hummingbird.” Another new song “The Greys Between” was released in late September, and they’ve revealed the song “Adeline” as part of the new album announcement.
Norther is now available for pre-order/pre-save.
TRACK LIST:
1. Book of Joe
2. Fire in the Sky
3. Adeline
4. The Greys Between
5. Navajo Norther
6. Field of Heather
7. Wheels
8. All the Way
9. Hummingbird
10. 1,000 Wild Horses
11. It’s Been a While
12. Everything and More
13. Fire in the Ocean
November 2, 2023 @ 9:00 am
Seen these guys a few times, and I honestly do not understand their appeal. Not a single song caught my ear.
But I wish them luck, they’ve got plenty of fans.
November 2, 2023 @ 10:23 am
Shane Smith is a big band that feels small. I’ll miss them playing in smaller venues, still I’m happy their rise feels earned and they’re still putting in tons of time on the road coast to coast. Looking forward to this album.
November 2, 2023 @ 12:53 pm
Definitely an anticipated album. Feels like a long time to wait for it’s release
November 2, 2023 @ 1:15 pm
2nd favorite band, only behind Turnpike. Really looking forward to this.
November 2, 2023 @ 4:34 pm
The only song that catches my ear from these guys is ‘Cocaine Habit’. Ironically according to the credits, Ryan Engleman from the Turnpike Troubadours played lead guitar on that track. Go figure.
November 2, 2023 @ 7:36 pm
Seeing them Tuesday night is a small club in Lexington KY. Can’t wait.
November 3, 2023 @ 10:11 am
I live across the river from Louisville and have to be at work for parent teacher conferences until 7 so I have to miss it, pretty bummed. Wish they were there Monday instead. That’s where I discovered them, opening for Turnpike back in like 2017
November 2, 2023 @ 9:26 pm
Saw them at a small club in Baton Rouge back in Feb. Live, his voice and the band are mesmerizing. I’ve been into them since Geronimo, and I couldn’t believe how powerful his voice is live. They rarely come through Louisiana, but I’d love to see them again, with the new album, if they come anywhere close.
November 3, 2023 @ 5:53 am
Good news. Looking forward to this.
November 3, 2023 @ 6:56 am
One of my favorite live shows. Can’t say I adore every song but every show I’ve been to I’ve always felt like Shane and them appreciate and respect the money I spent. Talking to him at shows he seems genuinely thankful people show up and somebody I don’t mind wanting good things for.
Excited to have pre ordered.
November 3, 2023 @ 10:14 am
The worst thing about living outside of the main Red Dirt stomping grounds is you only get one shot a year at a band like Shane Smith if you’re lucky. Two years ago they played in Louisville to hardly anyone because the venue had stupid show your vax card policies ( but took all your Save Our Stages tax money) and they lost their ass. I spent over $100 at the merch booth. They’ve got one Kentucky show this run in Lexington but I have to work until 7, live over an hour away and will have to miss it.
November 3, 2023 @ 6:57 pm
Bg SS&TS guy here – I feel like I’m turning into a major league complainer, but I just don’t like it when the last track of the album gets released as a single – especially here where “Fire in the Ocean” (which I like plenty) will have been out for 16 months before the record hits shelves. It doesn’t quite “spoil” the album, but it does seem to do something similar. Is this becoming a more common practice? Or am I just going a little crazy?
November 3, 2023 @ 7:43 pm
I’m sure there’s some reason why, but the incredibly long release period for this album seems like a bad choice.
They had momentum after Yellowstone
Seems like for most bands the long release window is a thing of the past.
I say tbhiwas someone who will listen multiple times day 1 and just wants the album now. Great great band.
Perplexing release schedule though.
November 4, 2023 @ 8:50 am
I feel your pain, and Trig has chatted about this before somewhere……once upon a time long ago rules were basic rules in the music industry. An artist would lead with one track (usually a single of some sort) a few weeks before the album would be released and when the album came out, many of us would buy it, not really having been listening to the one song that much in advance etc…
Now there are no rules, and every artist does whatever the fuck they want, releasing one, two, or sometimes 4or 5 tracks (currently being touted as the “sampler” by some artists) in the year leading up the album seeing the light of day thus making many of us either sick of those tracks because we’ve been playing them OR not playing those more than a few times, so you’re still excited come release day. It’s ruined more than one album for me I’m not going to lie but I’ve been pretty good at just waiting if I know the release date is close. It’s aggravating though for sure, especially for those of us that still care about the album format.
November 4, 2023 @ 3:33 pm
I guess it’s just the streaming world chipping away at the album form. I’ve found myself enjoying the “sampler” deal, especially with long album’s like Charles Wesley Godwin’s, but I still want the album to be its own thing.
But yeah, ignoring new songs from favorite artists just so you can listen to 7 rather than 6 new tracks on the actual release day is a skill I’ve glumly picked up.
November 13, 2023 @ 3:09 pm
I’m looking forward to this one. They are a really exceptional band. I really don’t know why they are not bigger.