Photo by Jeffrey Neubauer

WATCH: The Kitchen Dwellers’ “The Crow and The Raven (III)”

We first discovered Alt-Americana/bluegrass band the Kitchen Dwellers at the first annual Cavevest in Pelham Tennessee and we became instant fans at Nashville.com. The band just shared “The Crow and The Raven (III)” video which features Lindsay Lou on vocals, John Mailander on Fiddle, and Kaitlin Raitts on cello. This is the third single to be released off the band’s forthcoming studio album Seven Devils – out March 1 via No Coincidence Records. – The video was directed by Kayla Arend. “I am really proud of this one,” says Kayla, “It is a beautifully heartbreaking representation of Old West meeting New West, in this new world of 2024. This clash of cultures has been accelerated and exacerbated by the pandemic and the struggle of what it means to be an American today. Cowboys are purely an American thing, but what does it mean when our definition of the West is changing?”

Kayla studied film, photography and entomology at Montana State University before earning her Master’s degree in writing-directing at NYU Tisch School of the Arts. Her graduate thesis film, Leaving Yellowstone, was executive produced by Spike Lee and won several awards for Best Director, Best Actor and Best Cinematography.

As to the song itself, Torrin Daniels explains, “I wrote ‘The Crow and The Raven’ in the spring of 2018 after undergoing the end of a relationship. A lot of things came to mind in the process, but the thing I most commonly thought about was how sometimes a person’s intent may be misleading. You may not actually know who they are. It doesn’t mean they’re a bad person, but sometimes people don’t feel comfortable enough in themselves to show you who they really are. Sometimes those subtleties are hard to make out. The comparison came forth in deciphering a crow from a raven and how there are only a few differences that can only be made out at a close distance. The metaphor inspired the song. I returned to the piece in 2022 and worked on it with my friend, Elliott Blaufuss who helped me to see the story from the audience’s point of view better. I’m extremely proud of the way this came together… it’s got a massive feeling that’s grown so much from the sound of the little camp guitar it was written on.”

“The Crow and The Raven” follows the release of the previous singles “Seven Devils (Limbo)” and “Pendulum (V).”

Inspired by Dante’s epic voyage through the Nine Circles of Hell, Seven Devils guides the listener through a similar exploration, with certain songs corresponding to one of the Seven Deadly Sins: Pride. Greed. Lust. Envy. Gluttony. Wrath. Sloth. Other songs draw inspiration from “The Divine Comedy,” serving as checkpoints on this musical descent into the abyss. The Dwellers invite the listener to treat this experience as a musical journey inward – to the self.

BEST Nashville Concert Tickets!

About Jerry Holthouse

Music editor for Nashville.com. Jerry Holthouse is a content writer, songwriter and a graphic designer. He owns and runs Holthouse Creative, a full service creative agency. He is an avid outdoorsman and a lover of everything music. You can contact him at JerryHolthouse@Nashville.com

Check Also

WATCH: Christian Hayes' “Wildflower”

WATCH: Christian Hayes’ “Wildflower”

Capitol Records recording artist Christian Hayes has poetically drawn on his life experiences growing up …