“Music in Alt Country as a state of complete freedom. The flight of thought, the flight of feelings and a simple, but mental melody, which at a great speed runs through the wires in your homes. Turn around, perhaps -Maple Run Band- already at the threshold of your heart with your new single!” (Automatically Translated with Google Translate)
“Музыка в жанре Alt Country как состояние полной свободы. Полёт мысли, полёт чувств и простая, но душевная мелодия, которая на огромной скорости бежит по проводам в ваши дома. Обернитесь, возможно -Maple Run Band- уже у порога вашего сердца со своим новым синглом!”
-Nagamag.com
Used To Be The Next Big Thing opens with its title track, a driving, jangly roots-rock ripper about a Nashville musician on the brink of success that never comes, an expertly woven tale of the tragedy that occurs when the commodification of art takes the place of expression. From there, the record moves to the stripped-down acoustic country ballad “Loretta,” a eulogy for a lost companion inspired by The Louvin Brothers and Billy Joe Shaver that showcases Crist’s ability to blend genuine emotional expression with clever witticisms.
Elsewhere on the album, such as on the honky-tonk piano-led “Tears of a Fool,” Crist channels artists like Ray Price and Roger Miller to create a classic country barroom shuffle about regret and self-loathing. Occasionally, Maple Run Band do wade into the pool of sincerity, like on the album’s sweeping, seven and a half minute long closer, “Sunny Day,” which finds Crist singing in earnest about the need for support through dark days and belief in a brighter future. “‘Sunny Day’ was the quintessential pandemic song,” says Crist. “I literally wrote it to make myself feel better and to be like, ‘This shit is going to be over someday…right?’ But even with that, I wanted to write it more from the perspective of a character, not just my own perspective.”
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