Korean-American Nat Myers Channels Blues Greats On Easy Eye Sound Debut ‘Yellow Peril’

Korean-American troubadour Nat Myers will release his debut album Yellow Peril on Easy Eye Sound on June 23. Produced by label head Dan Auerbach, it’s being previewed by the infectious, rootsy “Pray For Rain,” which is accompanied by an official music video.

Myers, a native of Kenton Country, Kentucky who now lives in Nashville, had a musical upbringing based on hardcore and hip-hop, and was inspired by such blues staples as Blind Lemon Jefferson and Charley Patton. The publicity for Yellow Peril notes that he “carries on the traditions of the blues while simultaneously shattering every stereotype that comes with them,” confronting social injustice in the process.

That mission is further underlined by his other new songs “Ramble No More,” “75-71,” and “Yellow Peril” itself. The latter track has Myers backed by Auerbach and notable songwriter Pat McLaughlin (John Prine, Bonnie Raitt, Taj Mahal), while the album also features blues favorite Alvin Youngblood Hart.

Speaking of his schooling in American blues greats, Myers says: “It dawned on me that the real epics were being told by these itinerant musicians from the ’30s and ’40s, even before recorded sound. That’s when I did my deep dive into the blues, so I could write my own epic.”

He goes on: “I wasn’t raised with a clear understanding of my Asianness, and I didn’t really have a consciousness about who I was as a Korean American until very recently. I got very militant about it during the pandemic, and while I’ve chilled out a little since then, I’m all about Yellow Power. I want this record to raise my folks up.”

Pre-order Nat Myers’ Yellow Peril, which is released on June 23.

The full album tracklist is:

75-71
Trixin’
Yellow Peril
Ramble No More
Duck N’ Dodge
Roscoe
Misbehavin’ Mama
Heart Like A Scroll
Undertaker Blues
Pray For Rain