A native son of Arkansas, JD Clayton delivers a timeless form of country-rock that’s wholly the product of his environment: down-to-earth, deliberately unhurried, touched with a carefree ease that’s undeniably infectious. After several years spent grinding it out in Nashville—and kicking off a career that’s included touring alongside the likes of Dwight Yoakam, Old Crow Medicine Show, Parker McCollum, and more—the Fort Smith-bred singer/songwriter returned to his hometown and immersed himself in the making of new music that soon led to his signing with Rounder Records.
Clayton’s newest single—his first as a newly-signed Rounder Records artist—is a mid-tempo strummer that highlights Clayton’s unique melodies and simultaneously exacting and laid-back vocals, “Dance Another Dance” kicks into another gear when its first chorus comes around. If Clayton has made his career thus far out of a combination of southern rock and country music, “Dance Another Dance” adds a new flavor to the pot, something that was initially being cooked up in a Rolling Stones or Faces rehearsal in the late 1960s. Crunchy guitars break up in the same way Clayton’s words get gritty as he pushes harder and the slinky rhythm section of his ace touring band drives the song along without rushing a thing. It’s a perfect look into how the group’s collective influences peak through in subtle ways, meshing together to make a sound at once familiar and all-new.