Stream Hunter Senft's (of Downward) new solo EP 'American Love Songs'

Hunter Senft plays in Oklahoma shoegaze band Downward, and he also makes his own music which has a much different vibe, citing influences like Tom Petty and Roy Orbison. He used to go by Team Chino, but now he’s working under his own name, and he has a new four-song EP called American Love Songs due this Friday (5/12) via New Morality Zine and Best Life Records. The whole thing was written and recorded by Hunter, and he brought in some friends to add strings and horns.

“I had a bunch of songs written but nothing really united them all, so I decided to completely start over and try to make the most simple, straight ahead rock songs I could,” Hunter tells us of the EP. “All the songs I ended up with all sounded like they would be on the classic rock radio station I was listening to every day at the time; so I decided to go with the whole radio motif. Each song is evocative of its own era, from the 1950s-1980s, but I still think they all sound like a 25 year old wrote them.”

That should give you a pretty good idea of what to expect, and Hunter really pulls it off. He taps into the music of various bygone eras with a fresh perspective, strong hooks, compelling lyricism, and some really grand arrangements. The EP isn’t officially out until tomorrow, but a full stream premieres right here: