The Reailty Could Not Be Further From The Truth

Having been a founding member of one of the most revered power pop bands of all time tends to be a footnote that follows you around. Yet Jody Stephens’ contribution to the pop canon goes well beyond his beginnings in Big Star, helping to refine alt-country with Golden Smog and shaping the Ardent Records legacy well into the current era. Jody formed Those Pretty Wrongs with longtime friend Luther Russell, an accomplished songwriter and producer in his own right. The comfort between the duo is key to what makes Those Pretty Wrongs work. Luther and Jody bounce ideas off of one another with the kind of natural symbiosis that most bands can only hope to achieve. Their latest album, Holiday Camp, finds Those Pretty Wrongs crafting a record that’s autumnal, searching for solace, and yet unsettled. With shades of home-grown Memphis power pop, nods to Apple Records alums, and an appeal that trickles down to fans of open-hearted pop from Emmit Rhodes to The Elephant 6, Those Pretty Wrongs draw the listener into an environment that’s familiar and fragrant.

Heading into this third album, the band found themselves a new haven in the rising California outpost of Cosmic Americana, Roots, and Power Pop: Curation Records. While distance may have been inherent in its writing, the recording sparked reconnection in spite of the creeping constant of a remote roster. Holiday Camp finds more than a few friends turning up to lace songs with their contributions. Recorded from their own home studios, string arrangements from Chris Stamey, moog from Wilco’s Patrick Sansone, and glockenspiel from Mitch Easter all bolster the record’s mercurial grace. From the sunset serenity of “New September Song,” to the pastoral chamber folk of “Brother, My Brother,” the songs blanket the listener in a bittersweet bliss. Jody and Luther’s harmonies have taken on a sublime alchemy. Like lost brothers found once more, they weave wonder into the pensive meditations on “This Painted Sky,” and the hopeful send-off of “The Way.” With their full catalog in the steady hands of Curation, the band members find themselves poised to re-examine their past while excited to enter a new era with their most affecting album on the way.

“Perfectly displaying the simple combination of melodies and hooks, warm guitar sounds, generous vocal harmonies and airy romanticism it’s enough to make lovers of melodic pop swoon.” Shindig! 

“Their sound owes Jody’s alma mater: songs are simple, melodic, sepia-tinged and reflective foregrounding Jody’s heart-on-sleeve vocals.” - Mojo 

“Imagine a Roger McGuinn solo album produced by Matthew Sweet, in a shack in the countryside. No synthesizers were harmed in the making of this album, that’s for sure.” - Popmatters

Holiday Camp

Paper Cup

Curation Records

Those Pretty Wrongs - PAPER CUP

written and made by richard waters.
10.1.2025. 

Photo by Airam Dato-on: https://www.pexels.com/photo/elegant-birthday-celebration-with-floral-decor-30131204/

gonna tell you a story about a little man i know
he doesnt have a clue and i know hes got no soul
hes not into music at all and that i just dont understand
no i guess ill never understand

stand down 
listen to the words i say
stand down
stand down
im changing your life today
stand down 

let me tell you a story about this little man i know
he cant see past the end of his nose but the worse thing he knows
he really has got a clue and i dont think hes got a soul
i guess i never understand 

stand down 
listen to the words i say
stand down
stand down
im changing your life today
stand down

Stand Down {demo}

written and made by richard waters
28.1.25
Photo by Wendelin Jacober: https://www.pexels.com/photo/empty-damaged-room-with-mattress-1853951/

i dont know what to say,
 and i dont know what t think
dont know how to sing here we are

she dont know how to dream
she dont know how to stay
she dont know what to do 
here we are

there's no better place to be
here we are
 there's no better place to be

you can learn to dream
you can learn to forget
you can reach a goal
here we are

and in the time 
you do regret
but then we learn
 and here we are

there's no better place to be
there's no better place to be 

these are all just my observations
i really wouldnt listen to what i say 

she dont know how to dream
she dont know how to stay
she dont know what to do 
here we are
here we are 
there's no better place to be
 there's no better place to be......

No Better Place To Be {demo}

Strangled By Love .aiff

I made this myself, (Kelly here), using the djembe, electric guitar, and bass while mixing it down with Logic Pro. Thanks for listening. 

Instrumental Sludge Funk

Soul Garden {demo}

Hold the Flame

Out Of My Mind comes on like a 1970s thriller. A dark pulsing fuzzed up rocking blues riff and hip hop beats backs Mules deep and sinister vocals, which sound like you are hearing the agonised thoughts of someone who is about to do something bad. The song ends with a screeching guitar solo. Mule says, “I think it was important the album begins in shade, as an acknowledgement to my previous music and to give way very quickly to something more joyous and up lifting.

Out of my Mind

You’re Only Winning Cos We’re Singing hypnotic blues riffs and synths with a hip hop beat. Mule’s rich baritone sounds at his soulful best. Mule says, “The title is a play on a football chant and cryptic way of saying those who think they are in charge, who have power and believe they are winning are only doing so because the rest of us have leant them our voice, which of course can be taken away at any point.”

You’re Only Winning Cos We’re Singing

Picnic is a laid back swaggering groove of a love song. More blues riffs and hip hop beats, and Mule once again delivering lush soulful vocals. Mule says, “Everyone who is in love should at one time or another picnic on a hay bale and drink champagne.”

Picnic

Balance begins with an edgy hypnotic bass lines. You think it is going to turn dark, but the song unexpectedly explodes with beauty of kaleidoscopic synths that lift the spirit. The middle gives way to a piece of introspection where Mule ruminates on the barriers we put up to keep others out before the synths return with sitar and lush heavenly harmonies. Mule says, “This track begins the spiritual section of the album. An admission to recognise your faults and to accept that it is okay and that there is something more than this out there.”

Balance

Ladder continues the theme with more dreamy synths, magical instrumentation and Mule’s voice sounding like he is sitting high up on a mountain in a cave. Mule says, “This track really got under my skin. For a long time it had no words, and I really liked it and thought it would be an instrumental, but then the words came to me and it made sense to do it in such a way that it almost sounds like a prayer.”

Ladder

System Built On Fun musically sounds like something Brian Wilson threw away when making SMiLE that has been given a modern twist. Lyrically playful with a spiritual edge, Mule sounds a little like Smokey Robinson. Mule says, “The lyrics are old and I originally recorded them for an album that I have completed but abandoned in favour of what I hope is a more accessible sound to my previous incarnation.”

System Built on Fun

More (demo)

You Saved Me

Singer songwriter specialising in Acid Folk and Folk Rock. I love music and I love making music. My influences are varied, and you can hear them in my music.

System Built on Fun

Impossible Mule

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