BY: DIGITAL WAX MEDIA STAFF
Singer-songwriter Max McNown’s Night Diving (The Cost of Growing Up) is out now. The deluxe release issues via Fugitive Recordings, The Orchard, and Columbia, builds on Night Driving with a staggering 11 new tracks.
The album remains rooted in folk and country but delves deeper into personal territory. Between openhearted romanticism and plainspoken grief, McNown has said he hopes to provide a broader reflection of his own artistry with the revamped release.
“Better Me For You (Brown Eyes)” and “Forever Ain’t Long Enough” offer aesthetic journeys while cuts like “Same Questions” and “St. Helen’s Alpenglow” take a gander at the pieces left after love fades.
The title track returns in a new version featuring Cameron Whitcomb. A stripped-down meditation wrestling with inner turmoil, the track gains ground through Whitcomb’s rough-edged vocal.
McNown said Whitcomb was the only person he considered for the feature. “He gave it so much energy,” McNown explained. “Now the song has a whole new life.” Whitcomb referred to the track “honest and special” and said he knew he wanted in before the first verse was even finished.
At the center of the release is “The Cost of Growing Up,” a quiet highlight. The tune isn’t necessarily a bid for catharsis as much as an appeal for perspective.
is streaming everywhere now. McNown will bring the album to fans on the road later this summer.
Digital Wax 