The Prescriptions at the Raccoon Motel -- September 13.
Wednesday, September 13, 7 p.m.
Raccoon Motel, 315 East Second Street, Davenport IA
Their critically acclaimed 2022 album Time Apart lauded by Atwood magazine for "radiating with raw heartland passion and charming, churning melodies," the independent rockers of the Prescriptions headline a September concert at Davenport's Raccoon Motel, with AL.com raving of the group "If you’ve ever daydreamed about hearing 'Being There'-era Wilco jam with 'Bends'-era Radiohead, your wish is granted.”
As stated on the band's Web site, "When recording sessions for Time Apart began, the Prescriptions – singer/guitarist Hays Ragsdale, bassist Parker McAnnally, and drummer John Wood – were still riding high on the critical success of Hollywood Gold. The album's diverse sound had earned raves from publications like Billboard, who praised the 'breadth in Ragsdale's writing,' as well as appearances at SXSW and Jason Isbell's Shoals Fest. Back home in Nashville after a round of cross-country tour dates, Ragsdale filled his head with songs by Big Star, Elvis Costello, and other artists who, like him, used pop melody and rock & roll muscle as launchpads for a bigger, bolder sound. Flush with newly-written material, the band then headed into Brendan Benson's studio to record power-pop anthems like 'April Blossoms,' stacking vocal harmonies and bright bursts of electric guitar into songs that blended street-smart swagger with amplified shimmer.
"Months later, the guys found themselves in Florence, Alabama, where they recorded additional tunes with former Alabama Shakes keyboardist (and Single Lock Records co-founder) Ben Tanner. A global pandemic had brought the touring industry to a temporary halt, and the Prescriptions found themselves with unlimited time on their hands. They used that open-ended schedule to their advantage, experimenting with synthesizers and other unexpected textures, chasing down new ways of presenting their melody-driven sound. While the outside world grew increasingly chaotic, the Prescriptions created their own universe inside the studio.
'When we recorded Hollywood Gold, we spent a lot of time rehearsing, then went into the studio and cut multiple songs each day,' says McAnnally, who grew up alongside Ragsdale in Birmingham, Alabama, before forming the band with fellow Tennessee transplant John Wood in 2015. 'This record was more about going out and finding something new, and having the luxury of time in order to do that. With each song, we were asking ourselves, 'What's compelling? What have we not heard before?' We were deliberate. We were collaborative. This album is what it sounds like to really mean it.'
"'You can listen to our first record and hear our different influences,' adds Wood. 'We've always had wide interests, but Time Apart allowed us to become more specific. We've been a band for seven years now, and that means we're able to move together in one direction, which isn't something we could easily do at the beginning. We wanted to squeeze all the juice we could out of this combination of power-pop and experimental rock.'
"Released by Single Lock Records, Time Apart is an album for the heart, head, and hips. The Prescriptions have never been shy about nodding to the hook-driven rockers who came before them, but here, they carry those influences into uncharted territory, uncovering something that's truly theirs along the way. It was time together that created Time Apart, and the Prescription have never defined their ambition or abilities so clearly before."
The Prescriptions play their Davenport engagement on September 13, admission to the 7 p.m. concert is $12, and tickets are available by visiting TheRaccoonMotel.com.
