If you are looking for some new music to jam out to that has a gospel-infused twang, look no further. Idiot Grins, the Oakland-based country group released their 4th album, Thoughts & Prayers, a covers album of The Louvin Brothers’ 1959 country classic Satan Is Real. The project came to fruition as a labor of love honoring one of the group’s favorite records.
Guitarist of Idiot Grins, Randy Strauss, explained the genesis of the idea to cover The Louvin Brothers album. In 2017, the group was finishing their album, State of Health in Nashville. On a visit to the Country Music Hall of Fame, Strauss picked up a copy of Satan Is Real vinyl from the gift shop. “I suggested that while we wrote new songs, we dash off a cover album of Satan Is Real, for fun,” Strauss said and three years later, the project is finally seeing the light of day.
Although having previous appreciation for the original source material by The Louvin Brothers would be beneficial before diving into this project, it is not completely necessary. It is evident that Idiot Grins went into Thoughts & Prayers with extreme admiration of the 1959 album and wanted to honor such a pivotal piece of country music history.
Thoughts & Prayers follows pretty closely to The Louvin Brothers original album, but with updated and contemporary production. The first song “Satan Is Real” is a perfect introduction to the rest of the album starting with a sermon talking about the existence of satan and hell. The track is a slow dance with country harmonies over an acoustic and a clean electric guitar.
“There’s a Higher Power” is a fun hoedown that will make you want to stomp your cowboy boots and slap your knees. “The Christian Life” is another slow jam with a prominent banjo throughout the track with twangy vocals exclaiming “I like the Christian life.”
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If it wasn’t obvious by the first several tracks of this album, Thoughts & Prayers is drenched in religious overtones while also abiding by the country genre guidelines faithfully. With that being said, a religious country album may not be everyone’s cup of tea, or in this case, jug of moonshine, but there are definitely some highlights on this project that any music lover would appreciate.
“Are You Afraid to Die,” despite it’s morbid title, is a rather upbeat dance song with an up-strumming acoustic guitar, a fun sliding guitar, and twinkly pianos hovering around in the background of the instrumental. The track has a rather optimistic tone regarding death.
Another highlight on the project is “Satan’s Jeweled Crown.” Another slow-paced tune with a bright and springy electric guitar carrying the melody of the instrumental. The song is soothing to the ears and the vocal performance is as smooth as peanut butter.
The album’s finale, “I’m Ready to Go Home,” is a rather sad, yet hopeful ending to such a religious journey. The song’s protagonist pleads to the Lord that they are ready to go home to heaven, over yet another traditional country instrumental in the same vein of the previous tracks of the album.
Overall, Idiot Grins’ Thoughts & Prayers is a consistent sounding project pulling on the heartstrings of any Christian / country music lover. Idiot Grins stays faithful not only to the religious aspects of the lyrically material, but they stay true to the original 1959 Satan Is Real album by The Louvin Brothers, adding their own spice along the way.
Idiot Grins’ Thoughts & Prayers is available to listen to on Apple Music, Spotify, and anywhere else you stream music.
