LISTEN: Mark Fredson is a ‘Company Man’

Dig into some soft rock goodness by way of Washington State

March 27, 2025March 27, 2025 Ron Hart 0 Comments East Nashville, Gerry Rafferty, Margo Price, Mark Fredson, Nashville, Tame Impala, The Lonely H, Tom Petty

Mark Fredson is perhaps best known for his time as frontman for the Pacific Northwest indie pop outfit The Lonely H.

Or maybe you know him from his songwriting credit with Margo Price’s outlaw country tune “Hurtin (On The Bottle),” which he co-penned with Price, Jeremy Ivey and Caitlin Rose for Margo’s 2016 debut Midwest Farmer’s Daughter.

And if you don’t know Mark Fredson, you’d be wise to look him up, especially if you are a fan of well-arranged, big sky songs in the keys of acts like Tom Petty and Tame Impala, or perhaps Tom Petty backed by Tame Impala.

Now a solo act based in East Nashville but now back home in Port Angeles, Washington, Fredson continues to evolve with the release of his new album, Company Man. The fourth full-length under his own name, Fredson continues to mine the ‘80s for the essence of these new songs, evoking the spirit of cats like Greg Kihn and Gerry Rafferty with a sound you swore you’ve heard through the haze of youth. Imagine Daft Punk and Jackson Browne collaborated on a record.

Mark Fredson Company Man, self-released 2025

Aided by an impressive roster of some of Nashville’s best, Company Man introduces a rich, layered sound that signals Fredson’s growth as a producer.

“It’s also my most extensive musician credit list of any of my albums by far,” Fredson reflects. “Whereas the previous albums all had mainly one player on each instrument throughout the whole album, on this one I really dug heavily into my rolodex and called upon a bunch of different players I’ve come to know over the course of my time in Nashville. Three different bassists, three drummers, three guitarists, my trusty saxophonist, a couple string arrangements later, and you’ve got a pretty stacked credits list.”

Rock & Roll Globe is beyond honored to premiere Company Man’s synth-kissed title cut today on the site.

“It’s a thesis statement for the whole record,” Fredson says of the song. “It’s about being stuck in the middle between wanting to pursue a life in the arts, and a life where you feel pressured and called upon to do your small part in keeping capitalism afloat. The two aren’t mutually exclusive, but they’re not a match made in heaven either, especially as you get older and the allure of the white picket fence gets stronger. And while that specific song sums up this conflict in a pretty comprehensive manner, these themes kinda permeate throughout the whole record.”

Call this master bedroom pop.