Wednesday, December 26, 2012

2012: Year In [album] Review


There were many great projects released in 2012.  They’re all very different from one another but the best of the year for a reason:

Sean McConnell- Midland




Wade Bowen- The Given




Brent Cobb- Brent Cobb EP





Zac Brown Band- Uncaged




fun.- Some Nights




Aaron Watson- Real Good Time





Rob Baird- I Swear It's The Truth


Punch Brothers- Who's Feeling Young Now? / Ahoy! EP





 The Avett Brothers- The Carpenter





Turnpike Troubadours- Goodbye Normal Street





Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit- Live From Alabama





 
Dierks Bentley- Home / Country and Cold Cans EP

          
      

The Cadillac Black- The Cadillac Black



Alan Jackson- Thirty Miles West




Looking forward to in 2013:
George Strait- TBD
Gary Allan- Set You Free  Release Date: January 22, 2013
Randy Rogers Band- Trouble  Release Date: April 30, 2013
Jon Pardi- Debut Album- TBD

Here are some other blogs to check out for top albums of 2012:

http://thearroganttexan.blogspot.com/

http://www.nodepression.com/profiles/blogs/the-no-depression-community-s-top-50-favorite-albums-of-2012

Sunday, November 18, 2012

Sean McConnell - ‘Midland’ Album Review


Sean McConnell is an incredibly brilliant songwriter.   His songs ring true with real life.  It’s impossible to not relate to the situations he vividly describes.  He paints scenes with his lyrics that make you feel like you’re experiencing it.  His latest release ‘Midland’ was highly anticipated and was worth the wait.  

Every song on this album is crafted perfection.  There’s no way to choose a favorite.  The album starts with the title track “Midland.”  It describes the tragic life of a girl stuck in a small town.  Her life and surroundings are constant and things never change.  Days turn into years and time passes; this song is a perfect representation of the monotonous cycle of life in a small town.  I love that this is the title track of the album because it says a lot about the type of artist/songwriter McConnell is and the audience he writes for. 

“Save Our Soul” is about the need for a musical revival.  His soulful vocals accompany the powerful lyrics on this one to make it a strong delivery that sings to all that hope for the return of real music.

“Let Me Go” is heart wrenching from beginning to end.  The first line tells us how the song is going to conclude, yet every line following makes the song more and more compelling.  The ending of a relationship is difficult and finding a way to go about the break up is challenging.  After listening to this song, it makes you feel exactly like you do in the moment.  The play on words in this song describe how it is and the struggle in trying to find the words to say.  The bridge connects the song, ‘Could you just break this trap, unwrap me from your finger, the least that you can do is not let it linger.’  This is a call of desperation to hurry up and get the pain over with.  Ultimately, each line in this song delicately describes an emotional situation that we all face that never gets easier.

Next up, “Novocaine” is about the blissful stage in liking a person.  The comparison of a girl’s affection to Novocain is brilliant and edgy.  This girl takes his mind off worries and is essentially is his drug. 

“Kiss” is about a guy who is crazy over a girl and would do anything for her.  It starts off kind of circus sounding, which gives it an eerie yet cool vibe.  This is a sweet song because he is completely consumed by her, he’s basically as the song says, a puppet on a string and his salvation is ‘just one kiss’ from her.

“Suppertime” is about how time changes life as we know it.  When we’re young there’s no worries in the world.  As we grow older our lives become busier and more complicated.  This is unfortunate yet true; sometimes we just want to go back to the times where we were sitting around eating at the table.  In reality, life is a constant and we can of course not go back.  This song is reminiscing on the simple times in life of the past. 

“I Didn’t Want to Love You Anyway” rips at the heartstrings.  It describes about giving a relationship all you have and waiting for your feelings to reciprocate.  And when they never do, the disappointment is devastating.  The lyrics are powerful and the listener can hear the sincerity in McConnell’s vocal delivery.  The verbal irony in this song is mind blowingly good.  It’s hard to believe what the guy is saying, and it seems that he is struggling with believing what he is saying himself.  The bridge brings the song to another level of emotional. “I don’t need your sympathy, girl don’t act like you ruined me.  Don’t you dare speak my name when you pray.  I didn’t want to love you anyway.”  This song is an honest representation of this situation.

“Different Kind of Blue” is a tune about all of the good things in life, seeing beauty in the smallest things and making the most of each day.  It’s hard to listen to this one and not tap your toes.

“Lord It’s Gonna Rain” depicts a severe storm in an eerie way.  The details in the lyrics put you in the scene.  It’s terrifying to listen to the story of this storm destroying everything around. 

“Hungover You Tonight” is another brilliant example of play on words McConnell is so great at.  The type of hangover in this song is from knowing a relationship is going nowhere and the contemplation that happens as a result.  There is no hope for the situation even though there was an effort to make things work. 

“Old Brown Shoes” is about the sentimental emotions that result from a loved ones passing.  When someone dies it is always too soon.  There is never a day that goes by that the person does not cross your mind.  Coping is one of the hardest things to do; this song describes the way this person is dealing. 

Sean McConnell is a genius singer/songwriter and this project is incredible.  It’s one of the best this year and the songs will continue to resonate with many for a long long time.  The topics he writes and sings about are relevant as they relate to the greater human experience.  He is one of the best at what he does and “Midland” is the perfect representation of that.

Download 'Midland' on iTunes now:  https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/midland/id577659438?uo=4

Sunday, October 28, 2012

Lori McKenna's ‘Heart Shaped Bullet Hole’ EP



This EP exudes the brilliance that is Lori McKenna.  As one of my favorite female songwriters, she always has songs that speak the truth in a heart wrenching way.  

“All It Takes” -- Takes the listener along on the memory train.  The memories she has of someone are reminders in her everyday life presented by the most ordinary of occurrences.  Every event has some association for the person.  This relates to all of our lives; whether it’s eating ice cream or a favorite artist/song growing up.  It takes you back to the place and time; it reminds you of spending time with specific people.  Some of the simplest things remind us and take us to that place.  This song is a wonderful description of how memories constantly follow us around.

“Whiskey and Chewing Gum” – In the intro of this song love is compared to whiskey and chewing gum.  She compares love to whiskey in the way that it isn’t right but it gets you drunk and numbs for a while, but will never make you complete.  Love is like chewing gum in the way that it’s good when it is fresh but it soon becomes tasteless. And you continue chewing even after the point.  Love is a difficult emotion to grasp and hold onto and this song is the struggle of trying to understand why it’s so hard to do.  The takeaway I have from this song is that when love is difficult it isn’t meant to be, and when it is meant to be, love is easy.  Love cannot be imagined, it just is.

“Sometimes He Does” -- This tune is about holding onto a relationship for the good moments that happen but are far and few between.   The woman in this song is clearly very saddened by the state of the love that is stale.  She talks about everything the guy doesn’t do, but the relationship is justified because sometimes he does them.  At times he is the prince charming of her world.  It puts a twist on what we all think of when thinking about what a relationship should be like.  It’s a cold relationship that has a faint glimmer of hope and the way she illustrates the dilemma is phenomenal.

“No Hard Feelings”—This track is about the struggles of breaking up and getting back together to try and make things work.  It seems that now is finally the last time for calling it quits.  Once love has left it is gone for good, and there is no recapturing it.  Walking away is difficult but it will make for the best outcome in the end.  There are no hard feelings for the ending of this relationship. 

“Heart Shaped Bullet Hole” – The title track on the album is an upbeat tune.  Having your heart broken is never a good thing and trying to cover it up is nearly impossible:  “But you can’t hide hurt in a yellow dress, it will soak right through.”  As it says in the song, love is dangerous and there is not really a way to protect oneself from getting hurt.  Eventually, you will move on but there will always be a scar that remains.  The song concludes with a wish for revenge, which is always sweet when someone has done you wrong.

“This and the Next Life” – Sometimes a stand still is reached with the person we’re in love with when there is nothing else to be to said or done.  Words have been spoken to improve the situation but have not been heard.  If there were an endless amount of time to resolve the relationship to be what it once was, then love would last for eternity.   This would be ideal, but in reality we know this isn’t possible.  Yet we continue to hope for love’s return.

This collection of songs is a job well done by Lori.  Her amazing vocals paired with honest lyrics brings emotion out of the listener.  It’s refreshing when something is said in a way that it hasn’t been before.  She is always wonderful at this, and the compositions on this album are representations of her incredible writing skills.

Download 'Heart Shaped Bullet Hole' on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/heart-shaped-bullet-hole-ep/id567267463?uo=4


Thursday, October 18, 2012

Brent Cobb Captures With Self-Titled EP



When I first heard Brent Cobb’s EP I was captivated from the very first line to the last.  It starts off with “Diggin’ Holes”:

“Well I oughta be workin’ in a coal mine, neck deep in black lung soot, swingin’ a pick at that mountain side, half way to China.  I think I would--fit right in where the sun don’t shine, she’s better off alone, yeah I oughta be workin’ in a coal mine, Lord knows I’m good at diggin’ holes.”

The song goes on to describe his dilemma: “When it comes to love I ain’t got a clue, what this heart of mine is supposed to do.”  This line pulls the song together.

At the conclusion, the listener is hit with the heaviest verse of the song: “If I had a shovel I’d bury this heart, 6 feet down.  And my last words would be ‘I never meant to hurt you, I’m better off a ghost.’  Yeah I oughta make my livin’ in a graveyard, Lord knows I’m good at diggin’ holes.”

Brent performs this song flawlessly making the listener feel every word.  The honesty and vulnerability in this song shows that nobody is perfect and that we all experience rough times in life.  “Diggin’ Holes” is an ultimate of ‘I messed up’ songs.

“Love On Me” is next up.  This track is a charming portrayal of a guy convincing his girl why they need to be together.  After a first listen it’s hard to believe she would say no J.  It’s a happy, upbeat tune that you’ll find yourself dancing (unless you have two left feet) and singing along to.

“To Be Saved” is a heartfelt confession of a man who knows he needs a change in his life.  The gentleman in this song is tired of himself, “tired of hearin’ Mama cry” and doesn’t wonder where he’s going when his time comes.  He wants to be saved, which is the premise of the song.  It’s a celebration of a spiritual kind and at the same time life in general.  My favorite line in this song, possibly the entire EP is “It’s gonna be a party and the all night kind, and we ain’t stoppin’ til the pitch black shines.”  The future is bright and it’s where the hope lies.  The past is gone, and with each new day brings brighter possibilities. 

“Good To Go For Cheap” is the story of a couple good timing friends.  Although one of them isn’t able to do anything ever since he never has any money.  This is unfortunate, but he takes it all in stride, telling is friend to “have a good time, without me it’s okay.” In the end he ends up picking up his buddy after he’s had a rough night with ever clear, but he won’t let him sleep until they swing by Waffle House and grab something good to go for cheap.  This is an adventurous and telling tale of true friends.

“Dear You” is the result of the process of trying to find the right words to say when they seem to be impossible to find.  “It took quite a few times for me to finally find what I wanted to say.”  In the end he hopes they can still be friends despite him actions.  The heart grows fonder with separation, and it seems that he is truly missing the one he once loved.  This song is so eloquent in it’s simplicity to describe something we all go through.  He signs off “Sincerely, Yours ‘Til The End,” which shows his continuing love.

“Good Old Days” fights the pessimistic view that the good life is in the past.  Cobb sings “these are still the good old days.”  Not letting anyone influence his outlook on life, he chooses to see the present in a positive light.  He need not dwell in the past as his present is just as good as it was back then; and by the sounds of it, it’s better.  Life is all about what you make it.  The beauty in this song is that it shows off the people who complain about the way things are today.  While they’re complaining, we’re over here living the dream.

“Oh, I can still catch all of the Braves games, yeah these are still the good old days.”