Clarence Tilton - Queen Of The Brawl (2025)

Clarence Tilton is a five-piece band from Omaha, Nebraska, featuring brothers Chris Weber, guitar and vocals, and Corey Weber, guitar, vocals, and pedal steel, who grew up in a small agricultural town where the cattle outnumbered the people by ten to one. Having learnt guitar on borrowed instruments and bonded over such influences as The Allman Brothers, Neil Young, Son Volt, and The Flying Burrito Brothers, the brothers eventually joined forces with Craig Meler on bass, Paul Novak, guitar and vocals, and Jarron Wayne Storm on drums, percussion, and vocals releasing their eponymous debut album in 2015. It would be another four years before their somewhat ironically entitled follow-up, “Start Already Lost”, would see the light of day, only for the pandemic the following year to once again see the band’s momentum derailed. Undaunted, they persevered, and now, with a little help from a couple of friends in high places, they have released their third album, “Queen Of The Brawl”, which refines their signature sound while cementing their place at the top table amongst the current crop of authentic americana outfits.

The album opens with what can already be described as an americana classic, with ‘Fred’s Colt’ exuding the very essence of the genre, sublime musicality, great storytelling, lashing of pedal steel, all topped off by a special guest appearance from the legendary Marty Stuart, who is quoted as stating “I loved this song the moment I heard it, It is a breath of fresh air, real writing”. To be fair, it is all that and more, drawing from the ghosts of Americana’s heritage, evoking such luminaries as the Old 97’s and The Long Ryders.

There is an air of confidence, dare one suggest even swagger, that emanates from the band’s performance on this album. Like they knew they’d just found the holy grail. A point emphasised by the decision to follow the opening track with the instrumental, ‘Ray’s Stockyard Stomp’, the guitars dual bouncing out of the speakers. As enjoyable as that is, the band’s strength lies in combining their musical prowess with strong narratives, as they prove on such excellent numbers as the infectious ‘Bongo’s’ and ‘Flyway Cafe’, which includes some delightful co-vocals from Presley Tucker, daughter of the legendary Tanya Tucker. Both tracks here have an undercurrent that echoes the Grateful Dead, which goes to emphasise how entrenched the band is within the genre.

Amongst the many highlights here include the laid-back beauty of ‘Sorrow and Sail’, while ‘Pretty Things‘, which includes more vocal contributions from Tucker, is another immediate americana classic, with a melody that could have come straight from The Jayhawks’ classic line-up. The harmonies on ‘Friant’ help to show the breadth of the band’s repertoire, and though the country rock of ‘St Joseph’ offers little new, the reflective narrative of ‘247,459’ and closing song ‘Our Love Rings True’ ensure the album finishes, where it belongs, on a high.

In recent years, what is recognised as americana music has become rather blurred as its sound continually morphs and mutates, but with “Queen Of The Brawl”, Clarence Tilton has delivered an album that epitomises the authentic sound of the genre, and in doing so has propelled them to the very forefront of the current americana scene.