Texas Bites pt. 2
The long awaited sequel..... Part song review, part gushing over Randall King.
The second part of the first ever double feature sheds more light on the Texas scene. The diversity of the scene is shown off more in this one, along with a decided focus on the neo-traditional circles. For some reason, the synthetic pop influences borne by Sam hunt and his clone army never quite hit Texas country. The standard Texas country sound is more reminiscent of mid 2000s country or a natural evolution of the 1990s rock tinged neo-traditional country from the likes of Brooks and Dunn. The guitars are jacked up a bit more and the drums hit harder. Production also feels more full compared to the 1990s style. Obviously, the music progressed and changed, but the base sound still remains very familiar.
Current artists most identified with this sound came of age in the 2000s. Aaron Watson, Cody Johnson, Randy Rogers and many others kept the neo-traditional torch aglow when Nashville pivoted into its bloviating bro era and have inspired younger artists in the same tradition. However, the most buzzy of the younger generation have leaned hard into the rock edge and elevated the rock influences into an unholy combination of Hank and Kurt. The merger of rock and country has been around since the very beginnings of rock (Johnny Cash’s signature sound owed as much to rockabilly as it did to country) and obviously Southern rock played a crucial role in presenting the rural southern experience to the masses all throughout its heydey in the 70s and 80s. The current Texas country rock sound ranges from simply jacking up the guitars in the mix with fiddles and steel in uptempo barn stompers all the way to angsty punk rock with a Texan drawl. It’s a diverse scene and yet distinctly Texan in the inimitable larger then life manner identified so closely with the state.
Editor note- my apologies for it being a week later then promised. I have been under the weather the past week and couldn’t muster the energy to finish this up. Hope the wait is worthwhile.
With You- Tanner Usrey
This is an interesting song. There is a strong country soul feel all throughout the track with some nice rock bits interspersed throughout. Drake White would be right at home in this mix. The vocals are distinctive but too pitchy for my taste. The mix feels more like a live rendition then a proper studio mix. This is often the case with smaller artists who can’t quite muster the vast sums of money needed for the professional level quality we are accustomed to from big studios. The lyrics are fairly standard longing and devotion stuff, but Tanner sings with a believable conviction. The running guitar riff that provides the backbone to the rhythm grates on my nerves, but that might just be the headache I’ve had all day bothering me when I’m writing this.
Light 6/10
Interestingly, I found this song through the short lived Spotify discover page. It was a sorta tik-tokesque vertical music video format thing that lasted maybe a month. Pretty useless for music discovery from what I experienced, but at least I got some writing inspiration from it.
Bad Romantic- Summer Dean
Dean is a great story. For an artist who just hit the scene, she is decidedly older then you’d expect. Her writing reflects that maturity and life experience, providing a different perspective then the vaguely 20 or low 30-something’s viewpoint we usually get. Yes, life is more visceral and emotions flare harsher and brighter as a youngster, but the wisdom and perspective of age is no less real.
This very traditional country ballad starts off with a near identical fiddle line as the Spanish guitar that starts off Jon Wolfe’s excellent Tequila Sundown. I absolutely love the wordplay on this track. Still not fully sure what a 1995 o’clock shadow is, but it sounds very cool. The track is a resigned look back at a relationship from a familiar place for her. As a traveling singer, naturally there is difficulty in maintaining relationships. Summer details the resignation she feels and reckons with her feelings of being in a bad romance. No poker faces here, this is the unvarnished stuff here.
Light 8/10
Trouble with Angels- Cody Hibbard
Man, this guy has pipes. I really love his tone. This song is a great example of production keeping itself grounded and not overwhelming the song. The cadence of the delivery and melody throughout the song are not dissimilar to the melodies being churned out of Nashville, but unlike the blasting walls of sound and artificial percussion trends pasted onto every release out of Tennessee this past half decade, the production here is understated. It lets the Cody’s strong vocal performance stay in the front of mix and really connect with the listener. The song is a well written pondering of a temporary romantic moment that the narrator can’t keep himself from recollecting. “The thing about angels”, he forlornly states, “is they always fly away”. Poignant. An artist I will be keeping an eye on going forward.
8/10
In the Dark- William Beckmann
I anointed William Beckmann as my new artist of 2021 and it was in large part due to this song and the accompanying music video. His deep and mellifluous baritone meshes perfectly with the forlorn deep guitar that anchors the song squarely in the lonesome tradition of country music. Both reminiscent of the best of the past and uniquely fresh and forward looking, Beckmann is the future in country music we should all wish for. The music video is an artistic lens into the lonesome depths of the human heart. Elegant in its simplicity, the surface level metaphor of a lone man within a long ago abandoned mansion melds in perfect sync with the music. Point is, this man’s art is incredible, and every release in the past year or two has been rock solid.
10/10 Must Listen To!
Back To Normal- Jason Eady
I’ve never actually checked out Eady’s music yet. I’ve been recommended his music a bunch, but never really sat down and gave it a proper listen. I feel bummed about that, because if this single is indicative of his style then I’ve been missing out on some excellent music. Mandolin strums (or ukelele? I get them confused sometimes. Anyone who knows these things better, please tell me in the comment section) and some soft drumming provide the rhythm behind this old school track and Eady’s distinctive and understated vocal performance layer exquisitely on top of the mix. Little jolts of electric guitar add spurts of energy throughout. The lyrics are matter of fact and despite the clear quarantine setting of the song, apply nicely to all facets of life. Change is inevitable and handling it as a normal part of existence is the healthy route. Eady masterfully takes big ideas and succinctly wraps them into a pleasant and universally understandable musical package.
Light 9/10
If I Know You- Hayden McBride and Holly Beth
You know sometimes I’m convinced an AI just jumble together names and creates “artists” simply to fill the appetite of streaming services hungry for new content. All kidding aside, I have never heard of these artists. They are very new and part of the younger crop of Texas artists. Naturally the instrumental pallet of their work is more rock oriented. This track leans into a atmospheric but still very clean guitar based landscape. Guitars are strummed and plucked from above and subtle brushed drums provide footing for the track down below. In between the two primary instrumental elements, two voices wrangle with love and affection and all that the human heart contains in a lovely modern country rock Texan ballad. The lyrics could use a sprinkling more detail to really land the feelings being conveyed, but the delivery is convincing and captivating.
Decent 7/10
We will end this off with a broader look at three singles from Randall King.
Randall is due to deliver an album this year and presumably these singles are the pre release tracks to whet the collective appetite. He was signed to a Nashville label after his indie releases caught the eyes at Warner Nashville and he released an EP in 2020 entitled Leanna after his departed sister. It is a trancendant piece of country music art and has my highest recommendations.
King has been referred in online discourse pm as the next George Strait. Comparisons like that always strain credulity. It reminds me of how inevitably at some point during sports draft coverage, a prospect on the draft projection board will be compared to a robust cross section of inner circle Hall of Famer or current All-Star ballplayers. There was a period of about 5 years where any college-aged middle infielder with a pulse, so long as he was under 6 feet, was comped as the next Dustin Pedroia. Accurate? Not at all, but it’s just how we humans like to do things. So yes, sure, Randall has a great voice and a matter of fact delivery that owes a great deal to the King. He obviously isn’t anywhere near the the caliber of an inner circle country music legend like Strait. He is however one of the best young neotraditional artists we’ve seen in a long time.
Similar to many of the classic country songs of yore, complex songwriting isn’t the forte of Randall King. He tends towards the straightforward storytelling and uses subtle inflections and tone shifts within his delivery to convey the emotion within.
Record High
Steel and fiddle and twang for days in this upbeat forward looking honky-tonker. It’s a take on the oft-told story of a journey from lows to highs and the power of a positive perspective. King’s energy is infectious and you feel his good cheer all throughout. It isn’t reinventing the wheel, but it’s a sturdy well crafted wheel nonetheless.
Strong 6/10
Baby Do
I usually don’t like vocal hillbilly b-b-b-b-bone style filler. It’s usually unnecessary and is often used to conceal an empty space in the melody. Maybe it’s my biases showing, but I surprisingly really love how it is used here to add some spice and build up tension in the chorus. The song is a testament on how his girl accepts him and was willing to give him a proper shot. “Not everybody gets me or even wants to,” he proclaims, “B-B-But baby do”
The electric and steel guitars play off each other nicely and both are given time for solo work in the intro as well as the instrumental bridge. For the real purists, I will admit there is some rock elements throughout, but I would consider thinking if this song as hearkening back not to the early 1990s as the reference point for what constitutes modern neo-traditional country, but instead to consider this as a throwback to the more traditional side of early to mid 2000s country.
Strong 7/10
I touched on this in the intro but I really find it interesting how you could practically ignore the 2000s and 2010 pop country dalliances and draw a straight line from 1980s new traditionalist country all the way through to the modern neo-trad sound. Think what early Clint Black or Alan Jackson would sound like with modern recording technologies. Tweak the mixing to emphasis the percussive influences (put the stomp in barn stomping!) and add a small touch of Southern rock guitar (thanks Travis Tritt for mainstreaming that. Also some credit to, among many, Steve Earle, Dwight Yoakim, Joe Diffie and, sigh, Billy Ray Cyrus for the roots behind the southern rock punch in our neotrad country nowadays) and voila! welcome to the current state of the evolution of traditional country. Some may deride it as copycat and imitative. I personally lean towards appreciation of both the unchanged traditional parts and also the subtle elements that have been tweaked. Managing to create attractive and personalized sound and identity within a pre-existing genre template impresses me more then merely tossing various genre elements slapdash into a pan and forming some infinitely malleable genreless concoction. An underappreciated aspect of limitations is how they often add to artistry and creativity. This is a topic I will be exploring at a later date, but I guess this is a introduction to that discussion
You In a Honky Tonk
This is the slowest song of the pre-release trilogy. Simultaneously a tribute to the love of his life and his love for honky tonk establishments, Randall describes the little details that he especially enjoys when the two worlds collide. Simple but effective. The solidly country mix adds the perfect backdrop to the whole affair with the fiddle, steel and twangy guitar filling in the spaces in the mix. It all combines for a rich and lush canvas for Randall's smooth voice to paint on.
Light 8/10
I’m quite excited for the new album. Randall is among the best Texas has to offer, especially for a more traditional minded fan like myself. Mark down the calendar for the March 18th release of Shot Glass. It’s got the potential for year end material.
I hope you enjoyed this dive into Texas country. I was pretty high on a lot of the material. That’s in part due to the quality. It also is due to me not really wanting to write negatively right now and filtering the music covered in response to that impulse. I have no problem skewering bad music, but sometimes it gets tiring. Especially with me not feeling great, writing about music I enjoyed and wanted to share with an audience was a motivating factor. This was my first purely solo review bites post and it was great fun. I hope you check out some of the music we’ve covered and if you liked it, consider liking or commenting on the blog to let us know.
Have a good one!
Joe