I recently introduced a country music loving friend to Turnpike Troubadours. When I asked him how he liked it, he replied "They sound old and new at the same time" which was a perfect response. This is how country music evolved and somehow the Turnpike Troubadours have raised their own very high bar.
The full time addition of Hank Early shines through on this record and the whole band sounds very tight knit and in focus. Somehow they keep getting better and this is their best album yet.
The opener "The House Fire" brings us back to old characters from "Good Lord Lorrie" and "The Bird Hunters" with some great harmonica work by Evan.
There is a lot of similarity with their older material but also new sounds and great lyrics mostly penned by Evan Felker. "Something To Hold Onto" sounds like something Alabama would have done in the 70's until the typical Turnpike sound comes back in the verses. I'm already looking forward to seeing this one live.
There isn't a bad song anywhere near this album, but the two mentioned and "Pipe Bomb Dream" are probably my standouts. Listen to the whole thing straight through. I've done this about 30 times and it still isn't getting old. 2017 has seen some pretty good albums released, but this is the absolute peak of the mountain. In a just world, they would be the biggest band around. Buy this album now!
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