Exclusive: Listen to Oliver Ray’s Woodsy New Single, “Ol’ Coyote”

Former Patti Smith guitarist and singer/songwriter Oliver Ray has shared his new single “Ol’ Coyote,” from his debut solo album Out Passed Nowhere, out on June 7 via Royal Oakie Records. You can listen to the single exclusively at Paste below.

On “Ol’ Coyote,” Ray sculpts ephemeral majesty out of gentle acoustic guitars, gruff vocals and melodic electric guitar reverberations. His lyrics reflect the dark solemnity and mystifying grandeur of the mountains while chronicling a deeply moving tribute and a tip of the cowboy hat to a father figure.

Out Passed Nowhere features a wide array of guests from the Bay Area, Tucson and the NYC music communities, including members of Giant Sand, Sugar Candy Mountain, The Myrrors, Xixa and China, as well as an appearance by Smith. Ray has been playing music and writing songs for decades, and per a press release, “this album stands as testament to all those miles of road traveled.”

Ray wrote a song called “Fireflies,” which helped to jumpstart his career in the mid-’90s when Smith recorded the song for her album Gone Again, and he later toured and recorded several albums with her. Ray has also performed with his own outfit Saint Maybe as well as Trans Vans Santos.

Listen to Oliver Ray’s new single “Ol’ Coyote” below. You can preorder Out Passed Nowhere here.