John Mellencamp Orpheus Descending LP

TAS Rated 4/5 Music, 4/5 Sonics in the October 2023 Issue of The Absolute Sound!

With a career spanning over 40 years, musician, artist and activist John Mellencamp releases his 25th full-length studio album Orpheus Descending via Republic Records. It was recorded at his own Belmont Mall Studio and produced by Mellencamp. The album is one of the most personal to date for the outspoken artist as he continues to show that he's one of the best songwriters of his generation, focusing on social issues with standout songs "Hey God" and "The Eyes of Portland."

While in the midst of his massive Live and In Person 2023 North American tour, Mellencamp performed songs from the new LP during his live set. The Chicago Tribune says, "Awash in death, 'Hey God' functioned as a plea for deliverance from senseless gun violence. Preceded by a story about his encounter with a 20-something homeless woman, the solo acoustic 'The Eyes of Portland' took aim at the empty 'thoughts and prayers' condolences offered as a solution to major tragedies and dilemmas." LA Weekly describes the performances as "authentic, grounded and painfully honest."

The unique instrumentation of Mellencamp's band and his poignant songs about everyday life in the American heartland are widely credited with being the forbearer of the Americana/No Depression genre of rural-inflected music. Mellencamp continues his journey as the walking embodiment of heartland rock: passionate, plain-spoken and a self-proclaimed rebel.

Mellencamp is absolutely uncompromising and unyielding as an artist.

These blue-collar rants are as comfortable as a pair of well-worn blue jeans and find Mellencamp surrounding himself with an ace band that has backed him for decades: guitarist Andy York, fiddler Lisa Germano, keyboardist Troye Kinnett, and drummer Dane Clark.