THURSDAY MORNING MIX
July 30, 2009
Scott Foley

Ever had one of those bands? One of those bands who you kinda wanted to like more than you really did? Bottle Rockets are that band for me. Other than their excellent '01 Doug Sahm tribute, Songs of Sahm, I've always just found a couple "keeper" songs on their releases, but never felt wholly caught. "Get Down River," "Gravity Fails," even "Kit Kat Clock" for heaven's sake. Musically, they sounded like they were trying too hard to sound gritty. Lyrically, they weren't trying hard enough ~ I never thought saying you were a "working class band" was reason enough for making do with sometimes lazy lyrics.

Still, I liked the band.

Fortunately, their forthcoming '09er, Lean Forward, strikes me upon early listens as the most consistently rewarding B'Rox effort to date. The album's songs honestly rock, and they even seem to demonstrate a lyrical step forward.

* Crooked Jades, "Let It Show" Shining Darkness (self, 08)
* Magnolia Electric Co, "O! Grace" Josephine (Secretly Canadian, 09)
* Levon Helm, "Growin' Trade" Electric Dirt (Vanguard, 09)
* Guy Clark, "The Coat" Somedays the Song Writes You (Dualtone, 09)
* Salamander Crossing, "What Kind Of Person" Bottleneck Dreams (Signature Sounds, 98)
* Jayhawks, "Stone Cold Mess" Music From the North Country (Sony, 09)
* Avett Brothers, "Laundry Room" I and Love and You (American, 09)
* Boulder Acoustic Society, "Give It Away" Punchline (9 Mile, 09)
* Leslie and the Badgers, "Ballpark Lights" Roomful Of Smoke (self, 09)
* Devil Makes Three, "All Hail" Do Wrong Right (Milan, 09)
* Radney Foster, "Little Revival" Revival (Devil's River, 09)
* Hacienda Brothers, "Mental Revenge" Hacienda Brothers (Koch, 05)
* Joe Henry, "Bellwether" Blood From Stars (Anti, 09)
* Hot Club of Cowtown, "Long Way Home" Wishful Thinking (Gold Strike, 09)
* Joe Pug, "Thousand Men" In the Meantime EP (self, 09)
* Paul Thorn, "800 Pound Jesus" Hammer and Nail (A&M, 97)
* Monsters Of Folk, "Sandman the Brakeman and Me" Monsters Of Folk (Artist First, 09)
* Minus 5, "Smoke On, Jerry" Killingsworth (Yep Roc, 09)
* Sam Baker, "Cotton" Cotton (Music Road, 09)
* Amy Speace, "Dog Days" Killer In Me (Wildflower, 09)
* Stacy Earle, "Simple Gearle" Simple Gearle (Gearle, 98)
* Paul Burch, "Like a Train" Still Your Man (Ramseur, 09)
* Slaid Cleaves, "Tumbleweed Stew" Everything You Love ... (Music Road, 09)
* Sons Of Bill, "So Much For the Blues" One Town Away (Grey Fox, 09)
* Bottle Rockets, "Nothin' But a Driver" Lean Forward (Bloodshot, 09)
* Holly Williams, "He's Making a Fool Out of You" Here With Me (Mercury, 09)
* Tom Waits, "Shiny Things" Orphans (Anti, 06)

Scott