Lance Cowan

Lance Cowan • Critics

“Best Album 2026! There is no reason to hide the headline. Or hide the surprise. The singer-songwriter Lance Cowan steps into a spotlight that he surely deserves. So many intriguing originals and heartmoving vocals make up this new mountain of an achievement. There’s big songlines and intricate stories that move in and out of 11 songs that clearly will be one that touches all who listen for many years to come. And Cowan’s voice has grown into one that can only be his own, as he sings in and out of different emotions like an artist in a class of his own. Producer Scott Paschall is the perfect person to fill that job. He is a master of originality and insight into what music is meant to do. By the end of THE AIR THAT YOU BREATHE the real result

of feeling breathlessness is what’s just been experienced. Unreal but true.”

— Bill Bentley / Bentley’s Bandstand

 

"...However you categorize it-- folk / country / Americana / whatever -- it's inarguably wonderful. Lance's songs are literate, melodically memorable, and poignant on subjects both contemporary and historical (like "William Cooper Smith," an old West saga that touches a remarkable number of bases). And as I've noted before they're sung by him in a deeply affecting Bruised Everyman voice that I'd kill to have.”

– Steve Simels / PowerPop

 

“(The Air That You Breathe) is an album that packs a wallop so gently, you don’t feel it until it is too late.....and then you are stunned.  Especially powerful is 'Where'd They Go.’ In any event, you are a Songwriter, sir. Somewhere, John Prine and Steve Goodman are smiling.

– Michael Jaworek / The Birchmere 

 

“This prolific songwriter has once again crafted a record steeped in storytelling, drawing deep inspiration from the contemporary American human condition. Cowan excels at exploring the human condition, demonstrating an intimate understanding of it throughout the project. The Air That You Breathe is a warm, earthy collection of songs. Its gentle, Americana-based melodies perfectly breathe life into Cowan’s evocative lyrics, conjuring rich, vivid imagery in the mind of the listener to deliver a contemporary Americana masterpiece with a classic twist.”

– Gerry McNally / Folk-Tumble (Northern Ireland)

 

“Sensitive, engrossing and intimate. This touching world portrait is the title tune of the new album by this folkie Americana artist. The entire acoustic collection is gentle audio seduction.”

– Robert K. Oermann / Music Row DisClaimer, review of the title track

 

“…a classy album – eleven songs, smooth Americana, beautifully played, arranged

and produced. …songwriting at its best.”

– Mike Wistow / Folking.com

 

“(Lance Cowan) has become one of the most talked-about new voices in Americana and singer-songwriter music.. (and is) one of the genre’s most authentic storytellers.”

– Peter Schavemaker / Grolloo Radio Podcast (Norway)

 

“All of us who create radio programs thank you, Lance, for creating pieces of art that communicate so beautifully to our audience.”

– Marilyn Rea Beyer, Host / WFMT’s Folkstage and The Midnight Special 

​

" Breathe is a better album than many veteran acts have pulled off over decades’ long careers.  At a time when much of the nation is at the throats of the rest of the nation and vice versa, Lance Cowan is an antidote to all the bitter vitriol.  He’s the flesh and blood evidence that staying true to your values can overcome the life obstacles we all long to bitch slap into submission.  He’s not just one of the best stories in Country Music.

He’s one of the best stories in the whole Country.”

– Chris Rodell / 8 Days To Amish & Award-winning Author

 

“Another commanding record of class and beauty from Lance Cowan. This third album… is a collection of sweet and intimate songs that have the immediacy of a pencil sketch and the depth of a mural. The entire record is rich with the atmosphere of a private sonic diary of a caring human being. Lance emerges as a sharp, succinct, inventive and insightful songwriter, one who can convey complex ideas with just a few words.  Cowan is a talented artist who is adept at creating compassionate music that speaks for itself. In this batch of songs, he embraces and acknowledges the struggles, pleasures, heartbreaks and hopes

of life in today’s crazy, mixed-up world.”

— Alan Cackett / Esteemed UK Music Critic

 

“Through eleven carefully curated songs, Lance Cowan continues to emerge from the shadows as a songwriter of substance. THE AIR THAT YOU BREATHE is a gifted collection threaded by a desire to make sense of some of life’s basics. (It) brims with nuggets casting Lance Cowan as a wily observer and smart investor in words. This album of sumptuous effect will feed the fix of any songwriting junkie.” 

– Three Chords & The Truth UK

 

“That reminded me of Don Schlitz!”

– Annie  Ney / WSM Mornings  (Nashville)

 

“Lance’s tonality is conversational. It’s as if he talks to you personally & relates the story through song.” 

– John Apice / Americana Highways

“So much for the fabled sophomore slump. If Lance Cowan’s debut album, So Far So Good (a Deep Roots Album of the Year last year), came out of the blue to be one of 2024’s most pleasant surprises, then his new long player, Against the Grain, tells us its predecessor was no fluke. You may call him a dreamer, but he’s not the only one. Whatever else he is, Lance Cowan sounds like a major singer-songwriter whose art is our blessing.”

 – David McGee / Deep Roots

“This is Americana music at it’s most appealing. Without pretension, the singer-songwriter offers a new album filled with musical delights you’ll want to experience again and again.”

– Paul Freeman / Pop Culture Classics

“I mean this as the greatest compliment, but if you’d told me

John Prine wrote and played guitar on that, I’d have believed it.”

– Bill Cody / WSM-AM Coffee Country & Cody, Hall of Fame DJ

Commenting on “Love Anyway” 

“Lance Cowan has delivered a masterpiece, a guided tour through a rootsy tapestry of sound that will make any listener feel totally at home. A beautiful collection of intimate songs, the mixture of light and shade makes each

an engrossing, riveting listening experience.”

– Alan Cackett / noted UK Music Critic

“Lance Cowan is a singular talent, but his skills intersect several realms. A skilled promoter and publicist, he’s been responsible for bringing any number of artists the recognition they so decidedly deserve. However, it’s his abilities as a singer and songwriter that find him making a belated bow. He released his debut album, aptly titled So Far So Good, last year, garnering widespread kudos. His follow-up, Against the Grain, makes it clear it wasn’t a one-shot effort, further evidence that his artistic abilities have floated about in the ethos for some time. Cowan’s supple vocals frequently recall those of Jackson Browne or the late Glen Frey given their soothing and assuring sensibility, but it’s the songs themselves — “Once More Chance,” “I Can’t Send the Winter,” “Old King Coal,” and “More Or Less” in particular — that underscore the music’s full emotional impact. (Against The Grain)

is something akin to an album for the ages."

– Lee Zimmerman / Goldmine

“Last year’s So Far So Good is still in my rotation, and

Against The Grain is likely to end up right next to it.”

– Charles Hughes / No Fences

“Music Row publicist Lance Cowan is also a terrific singer-songwriter. His second album, Against the Grain, drops next month. Its advance single addresses the political divisiveness that’s so pervasive today. “If there’s ever hope for change, love anyway,” he sings in his tender tenor while acoustic piano and guitar notes

ripple around him. Innocent, touching and gently folkie.”

– Robert K. Oermann / Music Row DISClaimer

“If there were any lingering doubts from Cowan’s debut, on Against the Grain

he’s clearly stamped himself as a convincing and talented songsmith.”

– Jim Hynes / Making A Scene

“This late-blooming folk/Americana singer/songwriter has a second album, and it evidences no sophomore slump; in fact, Against the Grain is at least as likable as its excellent predecessor. (These are) songs you’ll likely want to return to predominate on this gently delivered album, much of which has a Laurel-Canyon-in-the-’70s feel. “One More Chance” and “I Can’t Stand the Winter” are among several selections that sound like ones the Eagles might have recorded.”

– Jeff Burger / The Aquarian 

"After years as an influential Nashville publicist for the likes of Joe Ely, Jimmie Dale Gilmore and Michael Martin Murphey, Lance Cowan’s second album proves that his talent is the equal of any of his clients. Against the Grain is a master class of songwriting, where every word illuminates the story and not a note is wasted. With its rich harmonies and soulful lyric, the heartfelt 'Prayer for a Child' could be a song that Jackson Browne forgot to record. Likewise, the tragic 'Will Belinda' continues the grand tradition of outlaw songs like Townes Van Zandt’s 'Pancho and Lefty' or Warren Zevon’s 'Frank and Jesse James.’ Cowan can also turn a phrase with the best. In the poignant 'I Can’t Stand the Winter,' the heartbroken hero tells us 'I sweater up my heart / by remembering the parts / of the burning fire that I once knew.’ The droll title track describes a sea-loving dreamer who 'quoted Melville, hated Faulkner' as he builds a ship in his wheat field. And the closing ballad “Love Anyway” is a moving plea for sanity in a turbulent world. All in all, Cowan’s economy with words and visceral emotions makes Against the Grain required listening (along with his 2024 debut, So Far, So Good) for anyone who’s interested in songwriting that tugs at your heart.”

– Bob Cannon / Music Critic 

“(Lance Cowan’s) work on his own stamp on the music business continues to grow with the release of Against the Grain; a sophomore effort ripe for the acoustic Roots world, a breezy wink to California-inspired Country Rock. He keeps solid company on the release. Pat Flynn from New Grass Revival (among many others) give solid support to tunes that lyrically dig into love and loneliness, chasing fortune and raising family.

This is a record about life and all its grit and glory.”

– Bryant Liggett / The Alternate Root

“What grabs the listener first is Cowan’s smooth voice

set against masterful melodic tunes.”

– Elaine McAfee Bender / Buddy Magazine

​​​​