when you are the son of legendary alt country rocker steve earle, and your middle name was given to you in tribute to townes van zandt, then you generally have a lot to live up to. justin has never really shied away from that legacy and has established himself as a very talented artist in his own right, but this album feels like it may be a turning point for him. his seventh album – released last week – is the first since getting married, and the first not recorded in nashville with his usual musicians. this time he employed producer mike mogis and traveled to his studio in omaha nebraska to lay down all the tracks. it seems to me that because of this arrangement the album sounds different than any of his previous releases. as usual, his songwriting is stellar throughout, and there is a wide variation of musical styles used to showcase the lyrics. ’15-25′ is a song about the period of his life between those ages, set to a new orleans dust up in the spirit of professor longhair. ‘same old stagolee’ is a new take on the old folk song, done with an acoustic guitar and accompanied by vibraphone. ‘champagne corolla’ is a swinging blues number about a girl and a car. ‘short hair woman’ is a funky little rocker that fleshes out the attributes justin seeks in a female. the title track may be the best one of all, a bittersweet lament about his childhood in east nashville and how the neighborhood has totally changed now due to the gentrification over the last 20 years.

this is one of those albums that i enjoyed from the very first song. it just has a real comfortable feel to it and never seems forced. if you are a fan of his, this is a must have. if you are new to him, this is an excellent place to start.