WELCOME TO THE NORTH. Northern Revivals members Sam Morgan (left) and Steven Smoczyk (right) released a debut single, “Paper Tiger.” (Submitted photos)

Truly great musicians have a knack for turning negative times in their life into raw and moving music. That was how Sam Morgan, half of the new musical duo, Northern Revivals, wrote their debut single, Paper Tiger, which was released July 21.

The song is an acoustic folk rock song, though that’s not necessarily how it began. Both Sam and his bandmate, Steven Smoczyk, started their music careers veering towards heavy metal and as Sam was writing Paper Tiger, he had written it to a drum beat he found on YouTube for metal music. The finished product has a heavier focus on guitar sounds and no drums, creating a classic, raw folk sound.

“Knowing that people are not only receptive but are generally taking something from (the song) whether it be from the music or the actual melody,” Smoczyk said. “It’s nice knowing that something you made is either touching somebody else or they’re taking something from it.”

Paper Tiger was the first release from Halliewood Recording Company, a new recording studio a few minutes north of Eau Claire. The duo had heard of Jordan Hoversholm through a mutual friend and were immediately excited to start working with him. Northern Revivals is also working on a four-piece project that will embody the same sound and ideas of Paper Tiger that they hope to release in the very near future.

“(Sam’s) lyrics aren't literal, but at the same time are very deep,” Hoversholm said. “One of my buddies said that the song sounds like a heavy metal band playing an unplugged set.”

Sam and Steven met each other in church when they were kids and after playing together, people started asking if they had a band. They often play together at different bars around Wisconsin, usually under the name Tabletop Anthem Boys.

You can listen to Paper Tiger on all streaming platforms and learn more about Northern Revivals’ performance schedules on their Facebook.