“Heartbreak, loneliness, and melancholy are universal experiences that Prinz Grizzley (aka Chris Comper) enhances with a certain honky-tonk swing, pedal steel guitar and vocals from someone who maybe has just seen too much.” – Elmore Magazine
AUSTRIA (April 27, 2020) – Austrian singer-songwriter, Prinz Grizzley, announces his upcoming single, “Nothing Left But Scars” on May 18. The single reminisces of failed romance while hopeful melancholy sweeps through the vast desert of memories with a breath of fresh air. It’s off the Beau Bedford (Leon Bridges, The Texas Gentlemen) produced album, To My Green Mountains Home, due out June 26.
Prinz Grizzley’s rugged vocals introduce a quavering vulnerability to the guitar’s gentle jog and drum’s steady beat. The organ and pedal steel guitar evoke images of sagebrush tumbling down a Texan highway. It’s in that isolation and loneliness that the inner and outer scars of failed love break open. He says, “When a relationship falls to pieces sometimes it’s just a little crack on the surface of your shiny car or your ego, and sometimes its a valley dug deep into your heart and soul. Despite this, we never give up looking for that high feeling of love again although we know what damage it can cause.”
On the upcoming album, Prinz Grizzley performs music from the heart. A heart heavily influenced by “mountains, forests, stubbornness, warmth of heart, religiosity and part of a very simple life.” It is a mix of Austrian alpine culture expressed through the sounds of Americana. To My Green Mountains Home is a search for meaning and identity in love, manhood, life’s tragedies, family history, and home. It’s about leaving behind what you’ve known to arrive in truer, greener pastures. It’s the hero’s journey as a quest within the mountains of Austria and the caverns of the soul.
Prinz Grizzley began discovering the richness of country and Americana music on his debut album, Come On In. On To My Green Mountains Home he establishes his own signature style by enveloping Americana and country music’s essence into the fold of his own journey musically and philosophically.
Nashville based artist Erin Rae, whose 2018 album received Album of the Year honors from the likes of Rolling Stone, sings harmony vocals on the song “Drifting.” Prinz Grizzley and Bedford chose to record the album in Austria because it gave Bedford an insight of who the artist is, where he’s from, and what inspires him. It also allowed Prinz Grizzley’s backing band, The Beargaroos, to play on the record to display the energy of the band’s live show. They recorded over the course of ten days at Nautilus Studios in Dornbirn, about 25 minutes from where Prinz Grizzley lives.
To My Green Mountains Home Track Listing
- You Don´t Know Love
- Cutting Wood
- Nothing left but scars
- Green Mountains Home
- The Shovel
- Keep The Fire High
- Drifting
- Magdalena
- Longing For A Fire
- Meet Me At The Pines
- Rush Little Man
- The Salty Life Of The Ocean
About Prinz Grizzley
Prinz Grizzley has released an EP (Wide Open Country) and a debut LP (Come On In). He has also built up a considerable following on the European market by performing a slew of festivals and tours in Ireland, England, Germany, Sweden, and Italy. In 2018 he performed at SXSW, Americanafest, and was the support act for the entire Seasick Steve´s “Can u cook” European and UK tour.
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Praise for Prinz Grizzley
“It is actually hard to believe that he originates from Austria rather than Nashville. In fact, the majority of the songs are better than much of what currently originates from that mainstream conveyor belt of mediocrity; as if Prinz Grizzley has taken the best of it and used his European filter to deliver a product upgrade.” — Peter Churchill, Americana-UK.com
“Top Ten of the Week” – The Alternate Root
“This debut album is a fine example of alt-country where the edges are slightly burred and there’s a carefree raggedness to some of the songs that give it an authenticity belying the Bregenzerwald native’s origins. Prinz Grizzley channeling the bastardised ghost of HankWilliams. — Ken Brown, Fatea
