Faith Kelly’s Halfway Decent is a roadhouse blend of psychedelic folk-rock and Appalachian grit. It’s the kind of album that smells like campfire smoke and sounds like late-night radio static turning into a love song on a highway drive.
Written by a songwriter raised in Duncannon, Pennsylvania, and now rooted in the Catskills scene of New York, it mixes hill country soul with spacey rock textures and just enough weirdness to keep it interesting.
The album is fully DIY: produced by Eamon Lebow, mastered by Greg Castro, and recorded with friends from the local music circuit. There is no label, no marketing team, just real songs made by real people who care about sound, story, and spirit.
The title Halfway Decent came from a mechanic who patched up Faith’s car after it got wrecked by a drunk driver on tour. “It’s halfway decent,” he said. That phrase stuck and became a kind of mission statement: make a halfway decent album, and hope it lights a spark for someone else.
The songs stretch across styles. Some are stripped-down, singer-songwriter moments rooted in acoustic storytelling. Others lean into krautrock-inspired grooves and electric experimentation. Lyrically, it’s about shifting winds, long roads, and the strange and beautiful people you meet along the way.
One standout track, “Time Bandits,” got its own music video last year. It’s a dreamy, nostalgic piece that captures the feeling of drifting through time with a guitar and no fixed address.
Faith tours with fellow musician Caswyn Moon, a rock-and-roll songwriter with country undertones. They’ve been on the road together since 2022, racking up their ninth tour and building a life out of bars, open mics, and community events in the Catskills.
Caswyn usually opens the night, then steps aside as the main act delivers a swirling, spacey set of folk-rock with mountain blood in its veins. He’s also featured heavily on the album.
Halfway Decent might not be polished. It might not be perfect. But it’s honest, weird, and full of heart, and that’s more than enough.
Check out Halfway Decent by Faith Kelly on Bandcamp here.
Faith Kelly: Bandcamp | Instagram | Official Website
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