Sunday, April 06, 2008
A+E, Music, Reviews

Justin Townes Earle

“The Good Life”  (Bloodshot)

CREDIT: Courtesy of Bloodshot Records
JUSTIN TOWNES EARLE
w/ the Felice Brothers and McCarthy Trenching
Sunday, April 6
7:30 PM
Eddie’s Attic
$10-12                                                                                                                 
404-377-4976
www.eddiesattic.com

Like father, like son? Not quite. Although Justin Townes Earle has followed his dad into the country singer-songwriter profession, this full-length debut is generally far removed from anything in Steve Earle’s catalog.
  
That’s a good thing, since we don’t need another Steve Earle wannabe, and because “The Good Life” shows that Justin is following his own muse. Actually, on the opening numbers, “Hard Livin’” and the title track, he seems to be following Hank Williams Sr., with a jaunty, old-timey country sound, spurred by fiddles and honky-tonk piano, which leads the listener to expect a retro style similar to that of Wayne Hancock.
   
But the sound turns darker by the third track, “Who am I to Say,” which hews closer to the confessional edge of his father’s work with an intensely personal performance, and the similarly stark murder ballad “Lone Pine Hill.”
  
The bluesy good-time shuffle of “South Georgia Sugar Babe” further muddies the waters as to Earle’s direction. And so it goes, with each track sounding like a different Americana artist, all connected by the singer’s calm, unruffled vocals. There isn’t much to connect, however: The entire 10-song release clocks in at just over 30 minutes.
    
The scattershot approach is a bit startling, and there’s the sense that Earle is still searching for his identity. Still, the songs are strong enough to make this a successful, if somewhat tentative, introduction to an artist who refuses to be defined by his bloodline. 3 STARS—Hal Horowitz