Peyton Tochterman
The sultry sounds of troubadour Peyton Tochterman are soulful, pastoral, but mainly refreshing. Don’t get me wrong, I am a huge fan of how folk music has progressed recently. Indie folk acts have done a tremendous job transforming a genre. Peyton, though, doesn’t mess around with hybrid stylings. No. Give him a guitar and a harmonica and let his earthy, grainy voice encapsulate you in the comfort of folk.
In his debut solo release New World, Peyton actually transports listeners back to the old world into spacious, wide-open country, with some songs tinged with a noticeable subterranean loss, much in the vein of Bruce Springsteen. Speaking of which, how about we take a listen to “Johnsburg” off of the new album.
The first thing that may pop out at you is Peyton does have an odd semi-resemblance to actor Zach Galifianakis. The second thing is, wow, is that Bruce Springsteen? The voices are more than weirdly alike, they are almost identical. Minimize the screen and just listen to the song. Are you telling me you couldn’t hear this track on The River? So what sets Peyton apart from similar deep-voiced folk artists? His rhythm moves effectively, creating a sense that more is behind him while it is really just Peyton with a guitar and harmonica. Would the E-Street band help him out? Of course! But his ability to create expansive sound from two instruments (three counting his voice) is impressive.
“A New World,” the title track of his new album, is lighter than “Johnsburg” and Peyton’s voice rises as well. “A New World” depicts his lyrical prowess, featuring lines like “life ain’t here for us, we’re here for life” and the catchy hook of “I ain’t ever been here before, hell if I know the way.”
Peyton’s acoustic folk is impressive and it is so great to hear a true singer-songwriter. I have one more little bit about Peyton before I point you in the direction of where you can track his music. I usually don’t do this, but I need to in this case because it sums it up so well. This is from Peyton’s bio.
“Tochterman is a former sports journalist, he has been hit by a train, had Kenny G.’s grand piano fall on his head, has helped cast bronze sculptures for renowned sculpture Cy Twombly, he has traveled across America on Harleys with his dad and has gone to the far reaches of China to record monks in temples blowing really, really big horns. And, he is also a cancer survivor. Through every step, at every breath, and in every barroom, Peyton has been, is, and will always be a great songwriter.”
The Music Court 
Nice tune, great write up.
Do you think the old-style folk genre has gone away?
I think he sounds a lot like the one-guitar clasic country musicians that can still be found…
I don’t think it has gone away. There are a great many still out there. It is just refreshing running into one staying true to the roots, you know?
Sent from my iPhone
Very true what you 2 are saying, Good tune and the Zach/Bruce thing is eerie.