Summer in the American South is oppressive as all get-out, especially when the wet blanket called humidity clings to the skin. I’m talking temps within screaming distance of the century mark and dew points pushing 60—or, for those who rely on Celsius, middle age (i.e., 40) and the mid-teens, respectively. Walking outside is akin to stepping into a sauna.
Yet for Irish singer-songwriter Podge Lane, whose alt.country dreams led him to relocate to America in February ’25, the moist heat no doubt feels refreshing after a lifetime spent wearing sweaters in summer.
“Heatwave,” recorded a few days before its release on Friday, July 18, mines metaphor from the weather: “A hundred degrees, yeah the glitter’s turned golden/Weatherman calls for a heart that’s frozen/Thawed out by a nice surprise/coastline hair and pale green eyes they’re calling/and I just can’t let go.” The shaggy song, which teeters between rip-roarin’ and mid-tempo, sports the feel of a ramshackle Neil Young and the Stray Gators side circa the early 1970s. It’s quite cool and bodes well for his forthcoming album.
The Old Grey Cat 
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