When your last record is produced by Dave Cobb – the man behind Chris Stapleton’s sound – and you’ve shared stages with Neil Young, Willie Nelson and The War on Drugs, expectations come with the territory. Yet William Prince has never seemed burdened by them. His latest album, “Further From The Country,” instead feels like an artist completely at peace with who he is, pushing forward while staying true to his roots.
Rooted in his First Nation upbringing and the close-knit Indigenous community that shaped him, Prince’s songs have always carried a quiet dignity. Here, though, there’s a fresh urgency from the off. The title track, “Further From The Country,” opens the record with a restless spirit — its narrator torn between the pull of home and the lure of city lights. It’s still rooted in country, but with a slightly psychedelic wash that hints at broader horizons.
“For the First Time” follows, shimmering with warmth and gratitude — the kind of song that feels like a deep breath. Then comes “All the Same,” a piece that deals with suicide in that understated Prince way: poetic, never heavy-handed, and made all the more affecting by his weary, half-spoken delivery.
“Damn” offers one of the record’s standout moments. Built around a simple but haunting melody, it showcases Prince’s gift for emotional clarity, saying more in a sigh than most can in a shout. “Flowers on the Dash” adds a touch of classic country, but there’s melancholy in its beauty, like the quiet acceptance that sits at the heart of all his best work.
“Thousand Miles of Chain” stretches out wide and cinematic — the kind of song that feels tailor-made for another Paramount series placement. Its instrumentation rolls like an open road, carrying the weight of distance and time. “On Rolls the Wheel,” the album’s single, picks up that momentum and spins it forward. There’s a Drive-By Truckers grit to it, but still unmistakably Prince: thoughtful, grounded, and searching.
Then comes “The Charmer” — another with wild, serene intent and sadness in its heart. It feels so personal that it’s almost heartbreaking, Prince sounding world-weary yet full of empathy, as if trying to find hope in the wreckage. It’s a song that quietly steals the record, its intimacy leaving a mark long after it ends.
“More of the Same” closes the album with lush strings and a sense of calm resolution. After all the journeys, doubts and questions, it feels like a return home — not to the same place he left, but to one reshaped by experience.
“Further From The Country” is a triumph of restraint and authenticity. William Prince continues to expand the definition of country music without losing its heart. It’s brave, beautifully written, and quietly powerful — the sound of an artist who knows exactly where he’s going, even when the road gets long.
