Hats Off to “Hats Cleaned,” New Album from American Nomads
Walter Kenul / photo by Richard Humann
Brooklyn roots-rock band American Nomads introduced their newest full-length release, Hats Cleaned, at a release party on Saturday, October 19. Held at The Firehouse, their Greenpoint recording studio, the band played all 10 of their new songs and then some. Hats Cleaned was conceived as the first half of a double album with part two, Shoes Shined, set for a spring 2025 release.
Most of the tracks were written by accordionist/keyboardist Walter Kenul and Richard Humann, with former members George LaGrange and Dante DeLemos also contributing songs. All were produced by Joe Vitale, who has worked with the likes of Crosby, Stills & Nash, the Eagles, and Joe Walsh.
Despite such pessimistic titles as, “Bad Day (To Be Alive),” “Long Way Down” and “Ain’t No Kind of Living,” among others, the music overall is upbeat. Highlights include “Women & Whiskey, the most purely country song on the album, and two previously released singles, the achingly plaintive, love-gone-wrong, “Running on an Empty Heart,” and the anthemic “My American Dream.”
American Nomads At the Hats Cleaned Release Party/photo by Richard Humann
The Nomads’ bluesy, country rock cover of “Whole Lotta Love,” a centerpiece of their live shows in recent years, is also on the album, with Susan Darmiento putting her own, distinctive vocal stamp on the Led Zeppelin classic. She also provides a powerful call-to-action lead vocal on “Don’t Look Back” and personifies hope in “That’s What I Want.” Darmiento and Kenul team up on several of the songs including “Beautiful Losers,” which brings the album to a beautiful, winning conclusion.
The release show also included a taste of Shoes Shined, namely “Wanted Man,” written and sung by lead guitarist Matt Schneider, the band’s newest (and youngest) member. In addition to Schneider, Kenul and Darmiento, American Nomads includes Joseph Humann, harmonica; Andrew Friedman, pedal steel; Jay Rivera, bass; and Joe Conoscenti, drums.