EXCLUSIVE! ‘The Only Love I Know’ by Pete Lanctot And The Stray Dogs

‘The Only Love I Know’ opens “with a chord sequence that Kimya Dawson might have discarded for being too stark”

You’ll discover folk’s a little bit country this Thursday, when you hear ‘The Only Love I Know’ feat. Danni Nicholls

his Thursday’s exclusive comes courtesy of a Brooklyn blues-folk band that betray just a little bit of country in their sound. Fronted by a songwriter who counts Bob Dylan, Nick Cave and The Carter Family among his influences, Pete Lanctot And The Stray Dogs have received praise from their local press, with The Brooklyn Paper proclaiming that Lanctot is “preaching the gospel of Americana from the stage and from the lectern.”

The Only Love I Know features Danni Nicholls alongside Lanctot’s Stray Dogs and her presence helps to give the song a feel that’s down-right downtrodden. Opening with a chord sequence that Kimya Dawson might have discarded for being too stark, the vocal harmonies between Lanctot and Nicholls draw-out the backdrop for the saddest cowboys descent into the heart of a blood-orange horizon. Adding to this a solemn violin and grainy video recording of the track, the result is a song that’s endearing and tender.

Here Lanctot explains the inspiration behind the song: “The Only Love I Know is influenced by the country waltzes of artists like Hank WIlliams, Ernest Tubb and Bob Wills and the storytelling tradition of The Carter Family. There’s mystery in songs like Wildwood Flower and Walking The Floor and I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry. Those songs don’t tell the whole story, they only give you little details. You have to put the story together for yourself.”

Continuing: “I was very lucky to have the incredible U.K. based songwriter Danni Nicholls sing on the track. I hadn’t recorded with another singer before, but having the opportunity to work with Danni was something I knew I couldn’t pass up. She’s a wonderful singer and amazing collaborator and it was very exciting to use the harmonies of the Carter Family and the Ernest Tubb and Loretta Lynn duets as a jumping off point for this duet. Danni Nicholls will be releasing her album, Mockingbird Lane, digitally on October 23rd.”

Pete Lanctot And The Stray Dogs released their debut EP Caledonia last year, but before you check their back-catalogue give the The Only Love I Know a listen, and see how deep the Cave, Dylan and Carter Family influence runs. As always we’ll leave the decision on that in your capable ears.

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