With percussive acoustic alternative rhythms echoing Daniel Johnston, outsider and grunge folk artist Andrew Neil has released his latest album, Sunny Side.

Encompassing listeners with a warm, soft, mellow, and loving echo, budding outsider artist and songwriter Andrew Neil from Charlottesville, Virginia, is driven to win hearts with his new album Sunny Side, drawing a parallel to the work of the great outsider songwriter, Daniel Johnston.

In fact, Kathy McCarty, noted Austin singer-songwriter and founding member and co-leader of the influential new sincerity band, Glass Eye, penned this for the liner notes, “Andrew Neil’s Sunny Side is a revelation. The outpouring of melody and counterpoint is deeply affecting, seeming to come directly from a heart so genuine that it is almost too pure for this world. His simple, direct lyrics can seem almost too plain; but then you find them reverberating in your mind for days afterward. This is a songwriter who will find his audience, as Daniel Johnston did.”

Penning over 400 songs since surviving a major car accident in 2009, Andrew is an independent outsider musical force. The emerging singer-songwriter taught himself how to play the keyboard and guitar by writing songs and used music to channel his intimate emotions. He has never played a cover song. With his new album Sunny Side, he puts on a show with his vintage nylon string Ovation guitar underscored by a unique and driving percussive style guitar rhythm and keyboard overdubs. Imbuing a very natural and organic spirit, the budding singer is set to warm hearts and bring back a memorable and uplifting vibe to music. It feels as though the artist is in your living room playing live. Neil’s unique, almost grunge-like guitar style is a bit reminiscent of Nirvana’s unplugged concert in New York in November 1994.

Sunny Side is an amalgam of sounds that are refreshing, crisp and warm. Every track on the album is catchy and underlined by a positive message. Songs such as “Gamblin Man” and “Heaven” evoke a soft and catchy vibe, which heralds towards the wistful and soulful essence of time, along with the titular track “Sunny Side” which is evocative of an optimistic vibe and outlook. The new album follows up on two fully instrumented studio albums, Merry Go Round and Freak, which were produced by Andy Waldeck and released in 2018 and 2019 respectively.

“I believe the album will appeal to people who really dig the lo-fi, outsider vibe. I hope my music will be recognized as something genuine; something that people can relate to and let them know they are not alone in this Jello world” says the artist regarding his new release. In addition to the recent digital release, Sunny Side is available on CD, along with a limited press vinyl version. Only 100 copies of the vinyl were pressed. Sunny Side is the first in a series of lo-fi albums Neil plans on releasing in the new two years.

The stunning album cover art was painted by rising Bostonian artist, Daniel Ben-ayun, who was featured in Juxtapose Magazine and has been compared to the famed pop artists Roy Lichtenstein and Andy Warhol.

You may also like Vince's Recommendations

You may also like Vince's Recommendations

NRN

In a sea of music platforms and streaming songs...
Get the hottest releases delivered to you each week

NRN

In a sea of music platforms and streaming songs...
Get the hottest releases delivered to you each week

Want your release on NRN?

Get featured on the site and in our weekly email blast
We love great music!

Want your release on NRN?

Get featured on the site and in our weekly email blast
We love great music!