Michael Dean Damron & Thee Loyal Bastards
Bad Days Ahead
In Music We Trust; 2008
As any fan of classic country will happily tell you, there’s not much of it on the market these days. While there are some singers and groups who might occasionally borrow a certain sound or traditional template for a special song, only few places exist where one can hear contemporary renderings of the whiskey-sodden, lament-my-sorry-condition storytelling of yesteryear. Sure, such paeans might be the basis for innumerable and overused jokes about the content of country music, but people can always connect with a tale about the singer’s lost love, broken heart, and/or the mourning of the consequences of a bad decision. It might not be the most original material, but it’s a tried-and-true formula that comes straight from and shoots straight to the heart of blue-collared Americans.
Fans of such music should fret not, for they now have the music of Michael Dean Damron & Thee Loyal Bastards to please them. Led by the passionate Mr. Damron, this group seeks to recapture the fervency of outlaw country on their new release, Better Days Ahead, and does so by readily channeling the lyrics of Waylon Jennings, the melodies of Townes Van Zandt, and the raucous energy of Jerry Jeff Walker. The album is replete with all manner of conventional instrumentation – harmonicas, slide guitars, the and chug-chug of rhythm guitars (as well as some cello) – but what makes this record special is how Damron effortlessly merges theological imagery with tearful ponderings of personal heartbreak amidst songs dedicated to moonshine, baseball, and Andy Gibb. Damron’s knack for tugging on the heartstrings in one song and then inducing smiles and laughs in another is what lifts Bad Days Ahead from lazily wallowing in comfortable, rote anachronisms. Tracks like the rousing sing-along “By The Time I Get To Heaven,” the woefully sad “Swear To God,” and the chill-inducing “Hallelujah” all serve as cogent examples of country music that’s done up right.
Download “By The Time I Get To Heaven”
Download “Swear To God”
Download “Ghost”