Alamo Race Track - Greetings from tear valley and the diamond Ae

Wherever you go and whatever you do, it sometimes seems like every road eventually leads back to your roots, to your youth, like a divining rod sent by a universe. Ralph Mulder, frontman of Alamo Race Track, knows all about it.

The band released four rock-solid albums full of idiosyncratic pop music between 2003 and 2015 and now, after an absence of 8 years, presents their fifth album, Greetings from Tear Valley and the Diamond Ae.

The light-footed guitars and vocal harmonies on opener and first single Sally H. may suggest otherwise, but the new Alamo Race Track album has its origins in a difficult period for Mulder.

His father had to deal with a long illness and did not have much longer to live, so Mulder, who grew up in Winschoten in Groningen, went back to the North of the country to be with his family. On top of that, the corona pandemic came along, which brought everything to a standstill. His brother offered him work in and around his farm in Ter Wupping and during the daily bike rides between the farm and Winschoten, many memories came to mind. Memories about special, meaningful places, past adventures, colorful characters from the region, old loves, dreams. This quickly gave the frontman the idea to make an album.

While listening to Greetings from Tear Valley and the Diamond Ae you imagine yourself on the back of Mulder's luggage rack, as he cycles through the windy Groningen landscape and shows you where he comes from.

“The album is an ode to my youth, an ode to East Groningen” - Ralph Mulder

Greetings from Tear Valley and the Diamond Ae will be released on October 6th on CD, black and limited edition transparent vinyl.