Farce the Music

Oct 20, 2017

Amanda Shires & Margo Price Perform "Midnight Rider"

Album Review: Turnpike Troubadours - A Long Way From Your Heart

A Long Way From Your Heart and Wonderfully, More of the Same

By Kevin Broughton

The striking similarities come quickly. There are too many common threads to miss in “The Bird Hunters,” the opening track of the Turnpike Troubadours’ 2015 self-titled album, and “The House Fire,” our introduction to A Long Way From Your Heart, out today on Thirty Tigers. A hard-driving country beat. A Browning shotgun. Searing heartbreak, met first with resignation and then just a smidgen of hope and resiliency. In fact, the dame who eventually crushes the protagonist shares a name (Good Lord, Lorrie) with a temptress a couple albums back:

I remember smelling smoke, I woke up I was choking.

Lorrie grabbed the baby and we made it safe outside.

She never missed a note, took a breath and cleared her throat,

And wrapped him in a Carhartt coat she found out in my ride.

Turns of phrase like that one are why Troubadours front man Evan Felker is one of the premier songwriters in country music, and by extension, why these guys are the undisputed kings of the Red Dirt scene. Could “The House Fire” be a metaphor for Felker’s recent past, what with several drunken performances the last few years? Maybe. But it’s a damn fine song and a great way to kick of the group’s fifth studio album.

And why, frankly, mess with success? A Long Way From Your Heart is the perfect, logical follow-up to the band’s 2015 release, the hands-down FTM Album of the Year winner. “Something to Hold On To” is straight-up rock ‘n’ roll with a dash of Okie sensibility. “The Winding Stair Mountain” gets in your face with frenetic dose of fiddle, steel and mandolin for a wild, three-and-a-half minute ride, so hang on.

But there’s balance, as with all Troubadours’ records, best exemplified by “Pay No Rent,” a tender friend song reminiscent of “Down Here” a couple years back. No matter the tempo or time signature, nearly all of Felker’s songs have a gentle, human touch. If he can keep his personal life between the ditches, look for the Turnpike Troubadours to sustain this level of greatness for a good while. Because this album sounds like it’s almost too easy for these guys.

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A Long Way From Your Heart is available today everywhere you consume music.

Let's Get Creepy: Top 10 Misfits Songs

by Robert Dean

In the spirit of Halloween, every music site ever has to do a top 10 Misfits songs list, and honestly, we’re no better than your average pack of dorks with too much time on their hands. Anyhow, The Misfits are the quintessential Halloween band. They’re the godfathers of all things creepy intertwining within punk and metal. From songs about killing babies (not very PC, Glenn) to space monsters, the band laid a blueprint that’s pretty much one step below Black Sabbath in the lore of underground music.

Because it’s the season of the witch, it’s only right to let nerds duke it out in the comments section over my top 10 Misfits tunes. This list isn’t scientific, it’s the best I could muster up because I’m a fan boy who likes the band just a little too much and picking only ten is like picking which tooth I want pulled.

Disclaimer: There are no Michael Graves tunes listed. Why? Because while Michael Graves-era Misfits is pretty good, it’s not the same sport, it’s not even close. Yes, I will ackowledge Dig Up Her Bones is a catchy song, but it ain’t So I Turned Into A Martian. You wanna rate his songs? Go get your own overtly dork blog.

Anyhow, in the spirit of Halloween here are my Top 10 Misfits tunes:

10. Angelfuck

9. Halloween