Last Friday, April 26, Nashville-based, Aussie artist Wesley Dean finally unveiled his new album: "Music From Crazy Hearts," an accompanying release for an upcoming feature film: "Crazy Hearts: The Documentary," which sees Dean and his family embark on an ambitious tour across the US.
Driving more than 5000 miles from Nashville to Los Angeles, Dean performs in towns off the beaten track and steeped in musical history, stopping by Memphis, New Orleans, Luckenbach, Marfa, and Las Vegas, among others.
The songs on Dean's latest offering are essentially a soundtrack of his tumultuous yet rewarding endeavor of breaking the industry mold to carve out his name independently.
This raw desire is perhaps best illustrated by the album's opening track: "Mercy," a country gospel track, whose neon-imbued music video arrives alongside the new record.
On the Creation of Wesley Dean's 'Music From Crazy Hearts'
Reflecting on the album, Dean said: "After a tumultuous landing in the US and a string of challenges that left me wanting to quit the industry, I looked to the moon early one morning and prayed for the first time in my life, 'God, have Mercy.'"
"In that moment," he continued, "I picked up my guitar and started playing what is now 'Mercy' in its entirety, from start to finish, as you hear it today."
Dean described the moment as the final crack that broke the "dam" of his musical thought, causing sonic expression to surge "without thought or conscious effort." For him, what he sang that night was "an honest letter from the depths of my soul to God [or the] Universe."
"That same morning, I also wrote the last song on the album, 'Tomorrow', which is fitting to think that they are now the bookends of the record," the country-folk artist explained.
After just a week, Dean had finished penning all the tracks of his new album, which prompted him to rendezvous with his producer friend Justin Cortelyou.
In line with his series of fateful happenings, the artist-producer duo finished live recording the ten tracks "with very little overdubs" in just over five days at the legendary RCA Studio A.
"For one incredible week I got to stand, sing, and play where Elvis, Dolly, Waylon, Willie, Stapleton, and so many more stood and recorded some of their most iconic music," expressed Dean. "It was a great honor just to be in the room, let alone cutting a record."
Dean sees his "Music From Crazy Hearts" not only as a deeply personal story of redemption but also as a call for anyone who is yearning for distant dreams to go ahead and " follow that tiny voice inside their heart."
Ahead of his album's release, Dean shared several lead singles including "Blood Brothers," which Magnet Magazine called "an epic country-tinged rocker;" "Don't Look Back" featuring Sarah Buxton; and lead single "Burn This House," highlighted by BrooklynVegan, Whiskey Riff, Holler and more.
Stream the entirety of "Music From Crazy Hearts" in your chosen major streaming platform by clicking here. You can also sample all the tracks right below.
