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Sep 21, 2022 By Caleb Campbell Photography by Liz Yoder

Coby and the Prisoners is the ongoing project of Ohio-based singer/songwriter Coby Hartzler. Taking influences from the worlds of psych rock, alt country, and folk, he spins plaintive stories of small-town life, religion, and longing, crafting stripped-back gems of atmospheric songwriting. He returned earlier this year with a new single, “Sidewalk,” and today he’s back with another new track, “Saturday Night,” premiering with Under the Radar.

With “Saturday Night” Hartzler takes a fittingly winding and nocturnal path, tracing his pastoral meditations amidst quiet strums of guitar and muted piano flashes of piano chords. Within the track’s spacious production, Hartzler offers momentarily glimpses into the small towns and quiet lives that occupy his stories, shading them with precious details like a dirt bike race, a cross standing in a field, and other slowly fading memories. These details give the track a warm nostalgic glow, a deep sense of longing, and a magical allure, as Hartzler traces the stories of forgotten Saturday nights.

The band says of the track, “‘Saturday Night,’ might be the most concise and clear example of [Coby’s] knack for putting a magnifying glass on the small towns, and open fields of America. It has dirt bike racing, a local nurse, religious “turn or burn” billboards, and a fear of getting older. Musically it is a sparse song with only acoustic guitar, piano, and some atmospheric drones creating a mystical backdrop.”

Check out the song below, out everywhere on September 23rd.