JP Harris
JP Harris Is A Trash Fire
***and1/2 out of *****
The album opens with the looping country grooving of "Old Fox" as Harris spins his tale with gorgeous backing vocals from guests The Watson Twins and a cool keyboard solo mixing up the southern sound. Produced by JD McPherson (who contributes some guitar and background vocals) the album sounds crisp and alive, at times sparse and at times jazzed up.
The album shifts from serious, heartfelt odes like "To The Doves" which uses weepy guitar and more phenomenal backing vocals from Erin Rae, to smirking country rock ravers like album closer "Beautiful World". That shifting of tones shows Harris' range as Chance McCoy plays the fiddle expertly on "East Alabama" (which has excellent backing vocals from Shovels and Rope this time) while the soft shuffling "Write It All Down" is a dose of sweetness.
The outlaw country vibe comes to the forefront on "Trash Fire" which would have been a hit on 70's country radio as it has flashes of Waylon Jennings and Merle Haggard while the acoustic heartache of "Charms & Letters" is the best of the bunch, slowly building with cinematic effect.
Harris' humor on "Dark Thoughts" which uses electric guitar picking and crunching sits comfortably next to the easy flowing twang of the touching memory song "Long In The Tooth" as no topic or style of Americana is off limits or out of range. Despite the title JP Harris Is A Trash Fire isn't a mess by any stretch, just some classic country performed by a rising artist.
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