SAM OUTLAW TENDERHEART

摘要

For his sophomore album, Sam Outlaw has delivered another batch of 13 sincere country songs that avoid the trappings of the Nashville sound machine. The songs are an appropriately diverse set in terms of both content and instrumentation with Outlaw's voice front and center in the mix. Tenderheart harkens back to a more authentic and honest chapter of American country music in tone, instrumentation, and lyrical content. Absent are country cliches of getting drunk, partying on boats, or dirt roads. The pick-ups he sings of happen in bars, not what he drove to get there. The album is particularly strong through the middle third with songs like She's Playing Hard to Get (Rid Of), Two Broken Hearts, and All My Life, where he plays with the tempo, slowing down slightly halfway through, before speeding up at the end, sending a positive message. To be sure, there are wistful plaintive tracks as well, punctuated by the crying of Jeremy Long's pedal steel and bandmate Molly Jenson's lovely harmonies. I especially appreciated the contrast in sound between a song like Say It to Me that ascends into a wall of sound, building from a single voice and guitar to a crescendo of sound and album closer, Look at You Now that features Outlaw and Jenson's voices over a gently strummed guitar, organ and bass that is so understated you might miss it.