Houndmouth, an Indiana indie-rock quartet (Matt Myers, Katie Toupin, Shane Cody and Zak Appleby), scored a breakthrough hit last year with "Sedona", the first track from their second studio album Little Neon Limelight (2015). "Sedona" is a catchy, gloriously exuberant and euphoric ode to the city of Sedona, Arizona - which was once known as 'Arizona's Little Hollywood', by virtue of all the western flicks that were directed there from the 1920s-1970s, when western flicks were a Hollywood staple:
'The red sandstone it fellRight smack on top, of Sedona ArabelleWhen John Ford said don't you hop on in the stage coach baby gonna take you for a spin, oh woahOh woahWell hey little HollywoodYou're gone but you're not forgotYou got the cash but you're credit no goodYou flip the script and you shot the plotI remember I remember when the neon use to burn, so bright and pinkSaturday night kind of pink!Well the blacklist and its hostHe came down so swiftAnd he drove him to the coastWere going to California but we're all out of workI guess that's better than a grave and a hearse, oh woahOh woah'
(Source of lyrics: Genius)
With poetic lyrics, dynamic vocals, effective four-part harmonies (Matt Myers takes the vocal lead in "Sedona", but Katie Toupin chimes in during the soaring, uplifting chorus) and a striding bassline, "Sedona" creates an atmospheric and rousing retro-gazing evocation of a Southern city's bygone glory:
"Sedona – proudly touted by the city’s official tourism website as one of Rand McNally’s eight most scenic drives in the US – lends its name to the opener, a gushing yet barbed panegyric that’s ripe for mainstream airplay but colours outside of the lines just enough to pique interest. Guitarist Myers croons over a gently rolling rhythm section, assuring Arizona's “little Hollywood” that it may be gone but it’s not forgotten, serenading the red sandstone rocks that were once the backdrop to a glut of Western productions in the golden years of North American cinema. The city itself got its name from one of its earliest settlers, and there’s a characteristic tenderness in the way it’s personified, with Myers crying “Hey there Sedona, let me cut you a deal/I’m a little hung over and I may have to steal your soul”. (James Killin, The Line of Best Fit, 2015).
