Hear It First: ‘American Folk’ Motion Picture Soundtrack featuring Joe Purdy & Amber Rubarth
‘American Folk’ is a film about two musicians who take an unexpected cross-country road trip in the wake of September 11th. They meet on a flight to New York that, after takeoff, is forced to return to Los Angeles when planes across the country are grounded for three days after 9/11. Desperate to make it to New York, the pair obtains a 1972 Chevy Caravan and embarks on their journey where they encounter many different characters all reeling after the terrorist attacks.
Actual singer-songwriters Joe Purdy and Amber Rubarth star in the film and perform 14 of the 16 songs on its soundtrack. The tribute to the American folk music tradition seen through the eyes of two songwriters driving across a vulnerable nation is a heartwarming premise. Standouts on the soundtrack are the tender moments between Purdy and Rubarth on their original material. Each wrote two songs for the film with the highlight being Purdy’s “This Old Guitar” (long version), which evokes the emotion and fragility that make him a great songwriter. Rubarth has an impressive ability to channel the American folk tradition, which also flows freely on her own songs such as her original, “Townes.” In the end, you are left with wanting to hear more original tunes featuring Purdy and Rubarth collaborations.
‘American Folk’ soundtrack is out on January 26th via American Folk Records and is available for pre-order now at iTunes and Amazon.com.
LISTEN to the entire soundtrack HERE.
