Dutch Americana artist P.J.M. Bond spins a tale of a quicksilver coyote traversing rugged landscapes from Laramie to Canada on his new single, “Coyote (King of the Island).”
The full-bodied campfire folk n’ roots number is Bond’s first release of 2026, and acts as the lead single to his upcoming album and third full-length album due out in April. The album will serve as a “critique of the contemporary music scene dominated by AI, streaming services, and plastic productions.”
To focus on authenticity and in-person collaboration, “Coyote (King of the Island)” was recorded live in the studio with all musicians in the same room. The song was created “in just a handful of takes… to celebrate the beauty of making mistakes, musical risk-taking and of human interactions.”
Like many wily characters of folklore, the coyote blends the lines between animal and human; sometimes resting in bumblebee-filled meadows, sometimes representing Bond’s own wanderlust. At the start of the song, he sings, “If it has four legs and runs/If it howls and yaps and runs/Then you’ve seen a coyote, or it might as well be me.”
Bond’s fast-paced, poignant vocals and poetic lyrics backed by fiddle, harmonica, and the occasional electric guitar twang may remind listeners of other folk greats before him, but that doesn’t mean he hasn’t carved out his own unique sound.
Tongue-twister lines like “Close the door and turn the lock/Lock the door and turn the clock/Time ain’t got nothing on me, I only grow younger as I bleed/Bleed to death and come to life,” showcase Bond’s natural ability to marry lyricism and storytelling.
The song eschews the lure of popularity (“Now I don’t care too much for fame/No one ever spells my name right”) in favor of looking inward and reflecting on the more meaningful parts of being human. “All we got is time, time, time/And barely enough life to spend it on,” sings Bond.
Bond’s previous album releases include his debut, Sunset Blues, in 2021, and In Our Time, his 2023 sophomore album inspired by Hemingway’s short-story collection.
Stay tuned for his upcoming spring album, featuring “poetry, modest literary victories and richly textured songwriting,” and his follow up single, “Ponderosa Pine,” slated for a February 27th release.
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