A Country Western has returned in 2026 with a brand new record. Audition Tape furthers the sound the band has spent nearly a decade building, arriving with less of the immediacy that drove Life on the Lawn (2024). Electronic textures are sprinkled throughout, surfacing in the seams between guitar parts and across the record's instrumental passages, while several songs settle into slow burns that reward patience over impact. The band's command of dynamics is as sharp as ever, and the space between quiet and loud is still where these songs live. (Real heads will appreciate the sneaky Solvent OS remix at the end, courtesy of Paris.)

The album came together roughly in thirds: demos tracked at home, sessions at the band's Philly studio space, and a weekend with Dan Angel (recently worked on Lotto by TAGABOW), formerly of West Philly's Sex Dungeon Studios. Angel works almost entirely analog with the computer off, a process Drummer Garrett Miades described as "esoteric."

The record was mixed by the band, Ian Norris (Taurus Judge, Menu), and Dan Angel. It was then mastered by Alex Nagle.

AUDITION TAPE BY A COUNTRY WESTERN.
PLAYERS: DEREK HENGEMIHLE, GARRETT MIADES, ERIK HILBERT & PARIS PARKER.

TRACKS 1, 2, 4, & 10 RECORDED W/ DAN ANGEL
TRACKS 7 & 9 RECORDED W/ IAN NORRIS

MASTERED BY ALEX NAGLE
ARTWORK BY MARGOT WHIPPS
RELEASED BY CRAFTED SOUNDS