Cleburne singer-songwriter Angel White’s debut album, GHOST OF THE WEST, is a tour de force of melody and meaning.
Its 13 tracks were crafted in just a dozen days down in Austin alongside producer Dwight Baker. White, dabbling in an eclectic mix of genres, sings of heartaches both familial and romantic, excavating a complicated past while considering a wide-open future. The album drops March 7.
There’s weight here — album stunners “DOWN BY THE RIVER” and the piano-driven “WILD PAINTED HORSES,” with its aching refrain “Time keeps marching on,” hit like sledgehammers — coupled with the fact White has already been touring these songs for years. So it’s not surprising the 29-year-old musician is ready to loosen things up just a bit.
“I’m having a lot of fun exploring new stuff,” White said during a conversation from his Cleburne home. “I’ve been writing more songs, obviously, so yeah, I’m definitely excited to explore.”
I spoke with White, who’ll open for Saint Motel at Dallas’ House of Blues on March 9, about his debut album, how its creation impacted him and what comes next. The conversation has been lightly edited and condensed.
Do you feel now, having put these songs out into the world, that you’ve processed these feelings somewhat? Or is this something you think you’ll keep unpacking as time goes on?
I think there was a lot of unpacking done within all of that, yeah. I would say, right now, I’m having a lot of fun exploring new stuff. … I pretty much have a whole other project ready to roll because, you know, it’s been almost three years, right?
Is there a little bit of impatience on your part, sort of ‘I’m ready to get to the next thing’?
A little, yeah, for sure. I think finally being able to get this piece out that we’ve been trying to get out for a while — I constantly remind myself: It may be three years old to me, but it’s gonna be brand new to everybody who hears it for the first time. So as long as I stay in that space, things will be fine, because I’m also extremely excited to drop new stuff. I’m already planning some stuff for after Stagecoach [White will perform in April at the country-themed festival in Coachella, Calif.].
That time has also allowed you to get out there and play and build up an audience that way, because you’ve been relentlessly hitting the road.
Oh yeah, and we’re constantly playing the new songs. There are some times where we don’t play any songs from the album — that’s just the live aspect for us in general. We’re gonna play what we want.
Have you been surprised, as these songs filter out and connect with people — has that been an interesting experience to watch happen?
Seeing it unfold and who it’s connecting with is a funny, interesting thing. It’s also, for me, like, no longer my friends and people who know me and people who have been watching the journey — it really is people who are fans of however they experienced me and I think that’s the coolest thing.
The thing that strikes me about listening to the album is your willingness to put yourself out there, because some people might hedge or hide behind a metaphor, but these songs are very direct.
That’s what I wanted to do, writing-wise, because I felt like I had been doing the metaphors, and that’s not what songwriting is — sure, that’s a huge piece, but I feel like that’s all I was doing. And I wanted to say sometimes exactly what it was … because you’re not giving too much room for interpretation, but giving the room to relate.
So, what’s next?
I think I’m going to do a Texas circuit for [the album]. I think it’ll be cool to keep it in Texas, just for the first leg. I wrote this song a month ago called “Lone Star Girl” … because I wanted an ode to Texas. We started singing it while we were on the road, and people loved it. It felt really good to be able to bring Texas places. So that might be the first drop after [Stagecoach].
What’s so nice about the record is I don’t think anybody could definitively tell when you get to the end where you’re gonna go next — because you can go anywhere.
That was what I wanted — to be able to set up, to be able to do whatever it is that I want, whether it’s a straight rock record, or a full blues record, or I do the same thing again. Who knows?
Angel White (supporting Saint Motel) at House of Blues, Dallas. 8 p.m. March 9. Tickets are $41.25.
Preston Jones is a North Texas freelance writer and regular contributor to KXT. Email him at [email protected] or find him on Bluesky (@prestonjones.bsky.social).Our work is made possible by our generous, music-loving members. If you like how we lift up local music, consider becoming a KXT sustaining member right here.
