Childish Things

If your father is a classic and established American author, you'd better fashion some decent lyrics; James McMurtry certainly rises to the task on this 2005 release. His dry, tough guy vocals and crisp Southern fried roots rock are a pleasant combination (especially with the trio version of his backing band on this release). But it's his words that beckon you back, that make the listener stick his songs on repeat play. McMurtry has a great knack for crafting slice of life story-songs, in a way that makes one think first and foremost of writers, of masters of the short story like Raymond Carver or Flannery O'Connor. Seemingly throwaway lines on closer inspection reveal themselves as expert dialogue: "Some guy who used to manage some band I've never heard of is trying to manage you." The excoriating yet tender "Holiday," which features the line "Pass the potatoes/ awww, eat sh*t and die," begs to be played at your next Thanksgiving get-together. After all, shouldn't we give thanks to the artists who make life bearable, even when it hardly is?