“Instruments are characters on the record,” Briscoe’s Philip Lupton says of their sophomore record, Heat of July, out Sept. 19. “I think we did a really cool job blending different instrumentation, from song to song, to help each song move in its own unique way.”
Getting ready for the album’s release, the western-inspired outfit, composed of Lupton and fellow ginger Truett Heintzelman, sat down to record an acoustic version of their single “Blue Eyes and Red Wine” for the Chronicle.
“[It’s] very true to us and how we got started, and true to how we wrote the bones of the song,” Lupton says. The pair began writing together on guitar, building their songs to incorporate banjo, harmonica, and eventually a fuller-band sound that started to take shape on their first album, 2023’s West of It All.
With that debut under their brown leather belts, the pair are digging deeper into lyricism. Their first record was written in between college classes at UT, where Lupton studied geology and Heintzelman majored in business. After graduating, the pair put those skill sets to use in their own ways as they navigated the varied landscape of the music industry and of North America while on tour, drawing inspiration from their natural surroundings and travel experiences. The two songwriters made use of long drives to home in on their writing.
“We spent who knows how many hours in the van just driving places. A lot of that was writing almost like poetry style, in the van without an instrument in your hand, and then sitting down later on with an instrument and kind of hashing it out,” Heintzelman says. “It’s just a lot of sitting with lyrics and making sure that these lyrics can stand up on their own without any sort of musical backing. If they can do that, then we’re in a really good spot.”
Back in Austin, the should-be-twins got to work on their second record with producer Brad Cook (MJ Lenderman, Waxahatchee, Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats). Alongside folk duo Watchhouse (formerly Mandolin Orange) and a team of experienced studio musicians, Briscoe focused on arrangements tailored to the lyrical arc of each track.
When talking about “Blue Eyes and Red Wine,” both men soften, tucking into the other major life change that’s inspired their upcoming release: their respective marriages. Though young, Lupton and Heintzelman are bonafide wife guys: “You made a good bet/ And you put it all in,” they sing in harmony on the song’s chorus.
The pair take turns authoring songs for Briscoe, and while this single is Lupton’s handiwork, Heintzelman resonates deeply with his co-writer’s words, which he feels illustrate his sentiments towards marriage for those who balk at the couples’ youth.
“That’s what it is, right? You made a good bet. You had good reason to make that bet, and now you just get to ride your bet,” Heintzelman says, a glint in his eye. “I love that. I love the whole song, but I love that [line] especially, because I feel like it answers that question, and it’s such a great perspective shift for people that – understandably so – think marriage is scary.”
Roughly a year into their marriages, the two draw on the maturation of their relationships and the humility that long-term love teaches – in their words – to craft celebratory love songs drenched in Texas imagery and steadfast affections.
Briscoe’s sound takes notes from the energy of stomp-clap anthems, the fluidity of jam band musicianship, and lyric-forward nature of writers like the Avett Brothers. They share an easygoing sway with folk-pop acts like Mt. Joy and Caamp, but the duo’s instrumentation is infused with a western twinge distinct to the Lone Star state, not quite country and not quite folk. Their fetching harmonies, sung over straightforward strings laced with brass solos and candy-coated keys, linger in your ear like a laurel-scented breeze.
“Blue Eyes and Red Wine,” and the rest of their Heat of July tracklist, find Briscoe leaning into their laid-back roots, following the song’s trail to grow as writers and musicians.
