Prine is a good reference point for the song. Because though the old American myths hang over the song—from classic country heartache to the LA’s promise of dreams—there’s a wryness which runs in opposition to this mood. As though Braden Lawrence is both subject to the romance of these tropes and aware of their absurdity. “A song to sway to through the strangeness of being alive,” as he describes it. And, like Prine before him, he manages to convey this duality without undermining the sincerity of the emotion on show. Because what is living in America if not drugs and God and Jar Jar Binks and a sense of unending longing?

and it’s so hard to mend a broken heart
and it was so weird seeing you by the mini mart
now there’s an angel singing in my ear
(that’s actually your tinnitus dear)

well I loved you like a Christian loves the bible
and I need you like your father needs his bottles

Watch the video directed and filmed by Dalton Pate below:

‘Living in America’ is out now and available from Bandcamp. Braden Lawrence’s debut album will be released later in the year via Anxiety Blanket Records.

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