Early Times Goes for an Early Sound

Based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, country singer-songwriter Kenny Hotopp began releasing music at the end of 2019. Between his work as a solo artist and his band The Night Owls, he has made three albums and four EPs.

Now, as a solo artist, he has released a new single, “Early Times,” the title track of his forthcoming EP, due out on November 18.

Hotopp’s most recent solo album, The Whippoorwills Cry, released last year, is a collection of dark country ruminations on straying, drinking, and salvation. In some ways, Hotopp seems to be setting his new EP on a similar course. “Early times” recalls familiar lyrical terrain, charting the course of a broken relationship. But Hotopp imbues it with a greater sense of narrative as he looks back on a love that fought for survival on a “rundown farm.” With a title that’s also a brand of whiskey, it’s not hard to imagine the narrator remembering their life together through a haze of alcohol. But this is implied rather than stated, a subtlety that gives the song a greater depth of field.

“Early times” also stands out for how it sidles up to bluegrass the way The Night Owls sidle up to barroom country. It’s not quite there, but the banjo and dobro take it close enough to make it distinct from his earlier songs. Hotopp’s sometimes pitchy baritone gives the song a bigger center of gravity than you would hear on most bluegrass ballads, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Ultimately, “Early times” expands Hotopp’s musical palette, adding to the diversity his previous two singles have brought and creating real interest in what could be his best release to date.

Christopher Raley