Time’s elastic nature is on display throughout “No Man, No Kids,” the first teaser track from country-flavored singer-songwriter Sara Bug’s upcoming sophomore set, Into the Blue. On the surface, it’s a three-minute lament about single life, and the proverbial knife that is heartbreak. Attempts to escape the ache generally mean doing things, anything, to distract one’s self; in Bug’s case that means hitting the road: “So i’m drivin’ out West in my truck/With nothin’ but/My dog, my guitar and a bottle of blues/Get lost in that desert and forget about you.”
The elasticity is readily apparent the deeper one treads into the groove. The song, from the tasty arrangement to Bug’s lilting drawl, could well be mistaken for a dusty record found inside a honky tonk’s musty ol’ jukebox, where it shares space with classic cuts from Loretta Lynn to Dolly Parton to Tammy Wynette. I’d continue the joke by saying the tiny sideways turntables—virtual though this jukebox may be—alternate between 33 1/3 and 45 rpms, but fear some may think I’m being serious. Which is all to say, “No Man, No Kids” possesses an old-school feel.
The song, and Into the Blue album as a whole, came together in a different way than Bug’s sterling debut. In an email, she explained that she handed her demos—some detailed, some not—to Nashville pros Gabriel Rabben and Sam Wilson, who also served as her backing band, and let them do their thing, said yea or nay to the fleshed-out results, and then laid down her vocals. The result is a less eccentric outing, yet one that’s just as compelling. All that said, “No Man, No Kids” itself doesn’t sound that different from the live clips she’s shared on Instagram.
Next Friday, Bug will release the album’s second track from Into the Blue. She said she plans to release the set’s eight cuts, in order, over the next eight Fridays, culminating with the title track on Valentine’s Day.
The Old Grey Cat 
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