With Johno Leeroy Roberts (vocals, banjo) it always goes back home to Tennessee. Specifically Nashville, and specifically The Bomb Shelter studio where the best (and most patient) engineers, who also did the boys’ first record, would welcome them back into their analog wonderland for round number two. Returning to the production team was Andrija Tokic (Alabama Shakes, The Deslondes, Benjamin Booker, Hurray for the Riff Raff, Langhorne Slim) and newcomer Ed “Man” DuQuesne (of Clear Plastic Masks fame), both splitting the duties of taking Johno’s songs and running them through tape, tape machines, echo chambers, dirty amps, and swirling speakers. The band, featuring Curtis Wallach on guitar, Matthew Lilley on bass, Dan Feely on drums, and Ty Breuer on steel, feels more accomplished and tight, but careful to be just careless enough to not sound too polished. Nashvillian household names (Natural Child, Birdcloud, Clear Plastic Masks, Thunderbitch, Lost Dog Street Band, Chrome Pony) all came through the studio and supplemented the record with some Tennessee loving before passing it off to be mastered by John Baldwin (Merle Haggard, Kris Kristofferson, Emmylou Harris, Sly Stone).
Dixie (When I Die) Crickets Dragon Dog All In Bank Levy Blues Bottle Wild Wyoming Burnt Bridges
Enough namechecking, though. Remove the gritty experimental production and the band’s new chops and you get what you came for: the words and melodies of Johno Boberts. Throughout the record, Johno reminds us about his love of the country/disdain for the city (“Burnt Bridges”), tumultuous relationship with liquor (“Bottle”), and the best way to pass the time in Grand Rapids (which is on acid; see “Dragon Dog”). “Wyoming” follows the band on the road, Colorado-bound, where “Crickets” can be found. Family, both the light and dark parts of it, are explored, first with a celebration of his daughter in “Wild” and its counterpart “McCrory Lane,” a bitter symphonic ode to a visit with his pa’s tombstone.
Add in some more collaboration from the band (bridges, outros, a few other surprises) and what you get is a dance record. From the Randy Newman-esque saloon piano of “All In,” to the fast as shit two-stepper “Bank Levy Blues,” Outta Beer, Outta Here is a record you can drink in on your feet in the PM, and in the AM learn about the realities of being Johno, as he lives out “those old country songs” without any sense of phoniness.
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