Silverada - formerly Mike & The Moonpies

Silverada
Evolution. It's what keeps the best bands afloat — song after song, show after show,
record after record.
Mike Harmeier was still in his early 20s when he formed Mike and the Moonpies. From
the start, they were the definition of a workingman's country band, cutting their teeth
with five-hour sets on Austin's dancehall circuit before spreading their music to the rest
of America. By the early 2020s, they'd become global ambassadors of homegrown
Texas music, flying their flag everywhere from Abbey Road Studios (where they
recorded 2019's Cheap Silver & Solid Country Gold with help from the London
Symphony Orchestra) to the Grand Ole Opry.
The growth was remarkable, but all that momentum left Harmeier and his four
bandmates — drummer Taylor Englert, guitarist Catlin Rutherford, bassist Omar
Oyoque, and steel guitarist Zachary Moulton — looking for something new. After all,
their music had decidedly changed. Why shouldn't their name do the same?
Silverada marks a new chapter in the band's history. It's not just the title of the boldest
release of the group's critically-acclaimed career; it's also the name of the reinvigorated
band itself.
"Back in the day, all we wanted to do was play the Broken Spoke," says Harmeier,
nodding to the hometown honky-tonk in Austin, TX, where Silverada began sowing the
seeds for a sound that mixed timeless twang with modern-day dynamics. "We had
different aspirations back then. We were still figuring out what kind of band we were
gonna be, and that took a lot of time and a lot of records."
A lot of records, indeed. Silverada marks the group's ninth release, and it balances the
strengths they've accumulated along the way — sharp, detailed songwriting that
bounces between autobiographical sketches and character studies; gorgeous swells of
pedal steel that drift through the songs like weather; a rhythm section capable of country
shuffles, hard-charging rock & roll tempos, and everything in between — with a
willingness to break old rules and open new doors. "Radio Wave" is a roots-rock anthem
for the highway and the heartland, peppered with Springsteen-worthy hooks and War
On Drugs-inspired atmospherics. "Eagle Rare" launches the band into outer space
during its explosive middle section, which the band improvised in the recording studio.
"Stay By My Side" showcases Silverada's road-warrior credentials — the band recorded
the track live during a tour across the American Southeast, capturing it in a single take
at Capricorn Sound Studios in Macon, Georgia — while "Wallflower" blends the organic
with the otherworldly, finding room for harmonized guitar solos, driving disco beats, and
808 percussion.
"Going into the studio, everybody in the band felt inspired to do something bigger than
what they'd done before," Harmeier explains. "We all knew we were at a precipice, and
we wanted to jump. I brought in some songs that were metaphorical and not always
straightforward, and that showed the guys that I wanted to take this music somewhere
new… so they threw their own rulebooks out the window, too."
Harmeier wrote the bulk of Silverada in his backyard studio, surrounded by dozens of
books he'd picked up at a local Goodwill. "We'd been on tour for so long, playing the
same set for almost two years, and I wanted to write something that was a departure,"
he remembers. Jeff Tweedy's books on songwriting were a big help, but Harmeier
pushed himself to get weird, too, finding inspiration in everything from astronomy texts
to sci-fi novels. "I would read some, work a little bit, read some more, and work a little
more," he says of the creative process. "I spent a full month in that studio, going there
every night, making word ladders and highlighting lines and learning to free write."
Recorded at Yellow Dog Studios with longtime producer/collaborator Adam Odor,
Silverada propels the band forward without losing sight of their roots. "Stubborn Son" —
a loving, unsparing sketch of the family patriarch who set Harmeier's creativity in motion
— unfolds like a close cousin to Steak Night at the Prairie Rose's title track, laced with
fiddle solos from longtime George Strait collaborator Gene Elders. "Doing It Right"
channels the same throwback, slow-dance ambiance that informed 2019's "You Look
Good in Neon." "Load Out," which chronicles the grind of blue-collar jobs both on and
off the road, could've found a home on 2021's One To Grow On.
There's a smart sense of history here — a celebration not only of where the band is
headed, where they've been, too. Even so, Silverada doesn't spend much time looking
in the rearview mirror. Instead, it keeps its gaze focused on the road ahead. This is a
snapshot of a band in motion, chasing down the next horizon, writing the soundtrack to
some new discovery. It's the sound of alchemy, of some new metal being forged. And
like silver itself, Silverada shines brightly.
"We spent the first part of our career figuring out who we are and what we're good at,"
says Harmeier. "Now we want to evolve not only the sound of the band, but the dynamic
of the live show, too. We're all lifers here. We're in this for the long haul. Silverada is us
setting the stage for the next leg of the journey."