Recently, I sat down with country singer-songwriter Nathan Jacques and talked about his new album, Dark Wanderer and the Bounty Heart, which was released on September 26, 2024.
How did you come up with the story concept for your album?
Nathan: After finishing, Loud Mind, the previous record, I didn't want to say goodbye to those two main characters just yet. I felt like I had built a nice foundation to set up a bigger, more fleshed-out story that could act as the main act and also the conclusion.
Tell me about the meaning of the album title.
Nathan: Dark Wanderer and the Bounty Heart is, like many aspects of this project, a nod to old Hollywood in the mid-1900s. I wanted to give the album a title with a classic feel, something that sounded like you'd find it on the shelf of an old collection of films and be intrigued.
Did you know you wanted to make a western concept album before starting to make the album?
Nathan: Yes. It's a continuation of the same story from my previous record and my sound had developed to a more western style. For the most part, I only know and enjoy writing in the space of larger concepts and stories.
What was the songwriting process like for the album?
Nathan: It took a while to write, about a year or so total. I typically write stories and poetry within the world of the concept and then mold pieces of them into lyrics. Sometimes it happens in different ways or everything all at once but that was the most common writing process.
What song are you most excited for fans to hear, and why?
Nathan: Setting aside the three singles I released leading up to the record, I'm honestly just most excited for people to hopefully listen to the entire record front to back. It was intentionally made to be consumed as such like you would a film. It's a tall ask for the average listener, but a boy can dream!
What was the creative process like making the album cover?
Nathan: I worked with an incredible artist named, Sam Hadley, to create the album cover and many other visuals for the world of the record. We had great collaboration and he is so skilled that it all came together pretty easily. If anyone needs beautiful old-school movie poster style artwork, he's the guy!
What three words would you use to describe the album?
Nathan: Romantic, western, noir.
How did you know when the album was done?
Nathan: Once I had written in every essential piece of the story -the last part added being the song “Shapeshifter"- I knew it was done.
What did you enjoy most while creating the album with your band?
Nathan: We spent about 6 months building the record from the ground up together. I brought all the songs to them with my vocal and acoustic guitar parts and a general idea and direction for the full band arrangement. From there, we all contributed to making a cohesive, epic, western sound we loved and enjoyed playing.
What was your favorite memory from while creating the album?
Nathan: Too many to count. The whole process was a rollercoaster and I wouldn't change a thing, even though it took a hefty amount of time to complete.
Check out more from Nathan here: https://www.nathanjacques.com/