this is their fourth album by my count, and i think it might be their best yet. twelve years of relentless touring on the red dirt circuit of oklahoma and texas have allowed this six piece outfit to hone and develop their own brand of country. there is a lyric from john prine’s ‘storm windows’ that goes something like ‘and a country band that plays for keeps’, and i am often reminded of that phrase when listening to these guys. they play so well and ably together, whether they are doing ballads or the occasional barnburner. the lyrics are usually character vignettes of small town folk, good and bad. evan felker is the primary songwriter for the group, but shares credit on a few here, including one with my old pal kev russell of prior gourds fame (lord, i miss that band).

as you can hopefully hear below, they have a knack for catchy lyrics without being artificial – well thought out stories about real life people. on this release they brought in grammy winning producer ryan hewitt, which felker says was ‘able to definitely distill it down to a little better liquor’. and i think that is right. their last album got to number three on the country charts, and i would not be surprised if this one gets them to the top, hopefully displacing a lesser bro country act. these guys are the real deal. . as i said in closing on my review of their last: get a 6 of pbr tallboys and enjoy the ride.

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