About the Meeks Family
The Meeks Family is an Atlanta-based Indie Folk/Country band that formed in the winter of 2008 when Brooks Meeks, formerly of The Close, and Jonathan Bradley, formerly of Iron and Wine, began fleshing out rough demos Meeks recorded in his home studio. After a first show as a duo Johnny Kral, ex The Hiss, joined up on bass. Down the road, Chris Case (Adron, Samadha) jumped aboard and to lend his master organ work. Influences include Lee Hazlewood, Johnny Cash, and Neko Case. Meeks Family recordings feature intricate instrumentation, dark subject matters and a stately southern sound. The guitars and drums are beautifully lush and easy going with plenty of Hammond organ swirling in and out. Did I mention tons of classic plate reverb?
The Meeks Family’s first 7″ was released by the Moodswing label and includes a cover of Nick Cave’s The Weeping Song, a duet featuring Atlanta crooner/troublemaker Tom Cheshire (The Rent Boys, All Night Drug Prowling Wolves, West End Motel,) and Meeks’ own The Deuce of Clubs.
Thirty One Years of Lullaby, the band’s first full-length, will be released March 20, 2010, at the Highland Inn Ballroom. Highlights include the haunting Tower of Envy with its beautiful Nashville guitar finger picking, as well as a Nancy Sinatra-esque duet with former The Close band-mate Theresa Fedor.
Press
17 March 2010 — Creative Loafing
Brooks Meeks has a gift for wrapping sentiment in a few simple words that resonate far beyond the surface. Thirty One Years of Lullaby is Meeks’ solo debut following the 2007 breakup of his dour Atlanta indie-rock outfit the Close. In every way, the record embraces the emotional letdown that goes along with the death of a band as well as a dream. Read more…
15 March 2010 — Stomp and Stammer
After years of fronting The Close, one of Atlanta’s most reliably superior indie-rock acts, singer and songman Brooks Meeks seemingly donned a dusty old cowboy hat and hopped aboard a horse with no name, judging from the sound of his current project, The Meeks Family. Without resorting to parody, Thirty One Years of Lullaby, the outfit’s debut album, exudes a high plains drifter sort of vibe, earthy and ethereal at once, the sound of hot, dry sunsets and long, lonely nights under a blanket of stars. Read more…
1 March 2010 — Atlanta Music Guide
From the ashes of Atlanta indie rock band The Close comes singer Brooks Meeks’ latest project, The Meeks Family. Initially conceived as a country/songwriteresque project, Thirty One Years of Lullaby is more reminiscent of a scene out of Cold Mountain. Released on the newly revived indie label, Moodswing Records, the line up on this family reunion boasts former Iron & Wine drummer Jonathan Bradley, Johnny Kral of the Hiss playing bass and steel, with Meeks front and center. Read more…
4 December 2009 — Creative Loafing
Brooks Meeks stresses that the two songs on the brand new Meeks Family’s debut 7-inch should not be called “country,” and he’s right. Although the idea behind the former vocalist and guitar player for long-defunct Atlanta indie rockers the Close explains that the project was initially conceived as a country/songwriter-esque project, it has come a long way over the last couple of years. The A-side on the 7-inch is a duet with Tom Cheshire of All Night Drug Prowling Wolves for a cover of Nick Cave and Robyn Hitchcock’s Weeping Song. Here their rendition does justice to the original’s air of darkness while draping a Southern twang over the its subtle nuances. On the b-side The Deuce of Clubs is a like-minded atmospheric brood where Meeks gives his nod to the lowest card in the deck, which kind of says it all. Think Neko Case, Johnny Cash and the likes and you have a good idea for the kind of non-country country style songs that are in store. Read more…
