Bones Owens Love Out of Lemons LP (Bone Color Vinyl)

On sophomore album Love Out of Lemons, revered Nashville troubadour Bones Owens continues to evolve his cultured rock songwriting while capturing the energy of his renowned live shows. Love Out of Lemons collects deeply grooving snapshots of carefree times and top-down drives with subtleties that linger long after the party's over.

"This record sort of picks up where my debut full-length left off," offered Owens from yet another hotel room on yet another tour. "Energetic rock very typical of my live show."

Raised on country, gospel, and bluesy classic rock in rural Missouri, Owens took up guitar at age 10 and within three years was writing his own songs. At 21, he landed a publishing deal and relocated to Nashville, where he was soon a sought-after session and touring guitarist for a diverse array of artists from Yelawolf and Mikky Ekko to Carrie Underwood and Bon Jovi. Owens also co-wrote most of Yelawolf's Trial by Fire album.

An old soul with a poet's way with words, Owen's early self-released solo EPs attracted the attention of Thirty Tigers (The White Buffalo, Smashing Pumpkins etc.), who released his eponymous debut album in 2021 and the more introspective, Americana-tinted Eighteen Wheeler EP two years later.

Like Eighteen Wheeler, Love Out of Lemons was produced by Paul Moak at his Smoakstack studio in Nashville. But while the EP was something of an introspective departure for Owens, Love Out of Lemons is a blithe dive into his eclectic, nuanced rock and alt-roots sensibilities, from the genre-fluid grooves of heyday War to the lean bluesy influence of Creedence Clearwater Revival.

"I wanted to do another record that was largely rock, but also for it to have more than one gear," said Owens. "A little bit less straightforward."

Love Out of Lemons features co-writes with Henry Brill (Phantogram, Jack Garratt) on "Born Again" and Austin Jenkins (Leon Bridges, White Denim) on "Higher Than I Wanna Be." Drums throughout were played by Julian Dorio (The Whigs, Eagles of Death Metal), with all other instruments handled by Owens and producer Moak.

"I think it's perfect that the record is coming out in the summer," he concluded before heading out to the night's soundcheck. "Because it very much feels like a sunny day, drivin'-down-the-road soundtrack to me."