Editor’s Note: We’ve had the pleasure of covering alt-country singer-songwriter Podge Lane several times over the past couple of years at SWT. We’re both huge fans of his songwriting, and his social media presence is one to follow, especially on his fantastic Instagram. You can find all of SWT’s previous Podge Lane coverage here.
For those who are hearing about Lane for the first time, he was born in Sneem, Ireland, and spent parts of his life living in Ireland and the U.S. He’s now based in New York City. Lane has released three albums via the independent Irish record label Teip Records, performed with musicians such as Charlie Parr, Cat Clyde, and the Riptide Movement, and released a live album from London’s iconic venue Green Note.
On his most recent single “Heatwave”, which was released earlier this month, he shares stories from his journey of his return to the U.S., from, as the press release put it, “the sweltering Georgian heat to the bustling streets of New York.” The single will appear on his new album, which he plans to release in October. And we shed some Spotlight upon it as well.
Below Lane penned this exclusive essay about “Heatwave” and his move back to the U.S. for SWT.
I am not equipped for heat. Don’t get me wrong, I love it. I lived in New York as a kid and loved playing outside in the summer. But years of living in Ireland made me forget just how warm WARM really is. The two biggest things I have learned, or rather re-learned, since moving to the U.S. in March is A) Warm means WARM and B) I love music and the art of creating, so much.Â
When I finished my third album last year I felt this sense that I had explored every avenue. I made a trilogy of albums that felt like a cohesive unit. I had given over a huge chunk of my twenties to this project and had no idea what I wanted to do next. So, along with my amazing girlfriend, we decided to travel and rediscover creativity. Starting in South Carolina, on to Georgia and now New York. Wild time to go (of course) but it was necessary if I wanted to tell a new story and truly believe what I wrote.Â
And the story of the day is “Heatwave”, which was the last song I wrote for this album, the quickest to record, and the obvious choice for a first single. C’mon I sung “mid-July”, it wasn’t gonna come out in October! This song is plainly the beauty of this new journey, the excitement and spontaneity all wrapped up into one. The lyrics came easy. It’s a love song, about how love can also lead you to painful mornings, but it’s worth it. Like going out on the hottest day of summer. Or moving country in search of music.Â
Unlike other records, my biggest inspiration wasn’t the music I listened to, but the music I played. By writing a song in the morning and playing it that night, I could see how people resonated with it in real time, without the bells and whistles. There’s a lot of honesty heard in an out-of-tune guitar, I’ve learnt that by playing through every hole in the wall since moving; from dive bars with six people, outside Madison Square Garden, and even a venue with post-it notes of Abraham Lincoln decorating the wall, a good song will resonate everywhere. And this was my attempt at writing that song. When it came to recording, I wanted that same level of imperfection that made these songs so exciting at shows. No 5th takes. I didn’t waste six weeks on a kick drum sound, because I wanted people to hear it when it needed to be out.Â
“Heatwave” is a song for those who want adventure, who want joy, and who might be afraid that expressing that joy will cause it to disappear. This song taught me that, and I hope it can do the same for you. Hopefully, I can write a song called “Sunscreen” soon.
You can follow and listen to Podge at the links below:
Facebook: facebook.com/PodgeLaneMusic/
Instagram: instagram.com/podgelanemusic/
Twitter: twitter.com/PodgeLaneMusic
TikTok: tiktok.com/@podgelane
Bandcamp: podgelane.bandcamp.com/
YouTube: youtube.com/@podgelane
Spotify: Podge Lane on Spotify
Contributor
Podge is an New York City-based, Ireland native, alt-country, singer-songwriter and avid hyphen collector (a joke Podge usually makes on stage about all the hyphen references he gets such as singer-songwriter)
