Album Release: The Company Car “The Return Of”
Release Date September 25, 2026
Maggz
The Company Car is back with their debut record, The Return Of, full of psychedelic rock sounds and funky lyrics. The band’s name comes from a story that sounds more like folklore than anything else - an actual car did crash into lead singer and songwriter Beau Williams’ house in 2024, mere weeks after the group’s formation. Self-released on their label, Fake Garage, The Return Of delivers nine tracks chock full of quippy references, jam band guitar riffs, and underwater keyboard outros. Each of the songs focuses lyrically on what it means to return to something - even the most mundane act of returning home in traffic after a long day at the office.
“Second Lifetime” opens the album and starts with a car engine firing up before melting into the folky vocals of Williams. This track begs for a re-listen as soon as it ends, with its blend of instrumentals from weeping steel guitar to an echoing saxophone, all accompanied by backing vocals harmonizing with Williams during the chorus.
It doesn’t take much to hear the influence of The Beatles, Neil Young, and Wilco during a first listen of this project. “Ways to Fold” delivers a fun sing-along style chorus with a punchy tag. “Barnowls and Hotwheels” slows down the first half of the album, with abstract sounds mimicking cicadas singing in the night air and a slow tempo setting a scene for the listener to slide into the world built through Williams’ voice.
“The Return Of” serves as a one-minute, eerie, otherworldly mash-up of sounds halfway through the album. Taking us where? That’s up to the listener to decide. The blend of genres the group explores is endless, musically taking cues from everything from Laurel Canyon-tinged Americana, to 90s slacker rock, to freak-folk.
“Ubiquity” is one of the strongest tracks on the record, leaning into the crashing rock sounds and a bit of Grateful Dead worship. “Running from the future, I’m looking through the glass. Trying to find salvation, if you think that it will last,” repeats throughout the track, Williams calling out to whoever might listen to his plea. “Edwards” drives forward the themes of reflection on the past, experimental sound taking over with groovy, distorted guitar and keyboard enveloping the listener.
Previously released singles “Unlimited Opportunity” and yacht rock bop “Surface” appear on the album, creating a smooth transition from their debut EP Sideways. “This is Passing” closes out the album and brings back the themes of afterlife from the opening track, pondering on the mysteries of life and the beyond.
The Company Car has previously provided live support with artists such as The Hard Quartet, Sharp Pins, Emperor X, Thelma and the Sleaze, and Dialup Ghost. A free release show for The Return Of will be held at Two Boots Pizza in Nashville, TN at 7:00PM on September 26, 2026 with local support from Will Mann Band and Lookout Mountain. The album is available on streaming platforms such as Spotify.
