Alt-Nation (#564), Underground Nation (#590), Singer-songwriter (#570.15) on the Nation DDS.
Get backed right into a nook by an enormous fan of nation music and songwriting from the State of North Carolina, they usually’re apt to speak your ear off about these two dudes named Tyler Hatley and Justin Clyde Williams, swearing they’re second coming of Townes Van Zandt or one thing. Simply to to wiggle free of those conversations over time, I’ve needed to swear that after both of them launched a bona fide full-length album, I’d spill some ink on their behalf.
You see, to date it’s been principally a reside phenomenon with these fellas, and a collection of acoustic albums, singles, and quick EPs. However now Tyler Hatley and Justin Clyde Williams have joined forces with one another, recruited fiddler Matt Parks of The Piedmont Boys who I as soon as declared “among the finest honky tonk fiddlers within the enterprise,” and created a facet venture surprisingly coined the “The Dick and Tammy Present.”
Unsure which one’s Dick or which one’s Tammy, however they’ve assembled twelve songs underneath one title, contracted out for some paintings that they hope doesn’t lead to a stop and desist from Looney Tunes, and formally referred to as Saving Nation Music’s bluff. This isn’t precisely the complete studio LP we’ve been ready for although. It’s extra like an EP smashed along with a reside album. Nevertheless it’s additionally a rattling good pay attention with some actually significant songs, a couple of foolish ones, and all of the realness you need from a few Carolina bumpkins braying into microphones.
The Dick and Tammy Present is a few critical North Carolina shit. Ice down some Cheerwine, make up some sandwiches with Duke’s Mayonnaise, and head out to Ocracoke for a picnic. They identify drop American Aquarium within the heartbreaking, six minute epic “Oak Metropolis.” There’s a fantastic music on right here referred to as “Virginia,” but it is likely to be probably the most North Carolina music of all of them. This album is 2 dudes from Cackalacky spilling their guts out and singing about their lives, fully unpretentious and devoid of agenda or business calculations. It’s not at all times fairly and polished, but it surely’s fairly darn entertaining and endearing all through.
After a fast reside intro that acts like a stoned travelogue from a Dick and Tammy Present tour, the album options 5 studio songs which can be in all probability greatest described and singer/songwriter alt-country-tinged Americana. All co-written between Hatley and Williams, these are songs that remind you of the time earlier than the Zach Bryan affect had everybody sounding like a foul Lumineers impression, or possibly like a extra rugged model of Muscadine Bloodline.
The studio tracks are all stable. However actually, all these loudmouth North Carolina followers had been proper: reside is the place these two thrive, and that’s what the second half of the album options. The music’s not at all times tremendous tight, but it surely’s true to themselves, whether or not it’s the center pining frustration present in “Darlene,” or the significantly poetic and heart-wrenching moments of “Fiddles and Rain” the place fiddler Matt Parks shines via the darkness.
Although Tyler Hatley and Justin Clyde Williams wrote ten of the album’s twelve tracks, it’s two that they didn’t write that additionally stand out. This would be the third album evaluate written on this ol’ web site alone that options the music “In Got here You.” Written by Cory Hunt, Greg Payne, Todd Allmon, and Wyatt Durette, it was beforehand recorded by The Piedmont Boys, in addition to North Carolina’s Mikele Buck Band. Simply go forward and declare it a rustic music commonplace of the Tarheel State.
The album arguably reaches its peak on the conclusion of the music “Linda James” written by Nicholas Jamerson. The harmonizing of Hatley and Williams is completely mesmerizing, and proves that for the occasional silliness and spitball nature of this collaboration, these are two very critical musical skills that undoubtedly deserve an viewers past the Carolinas.
You do nonetheless maintain out hope for a definitive full-length, full band studio albums from each of those guys that would assist them escape of the bar scene, since you consider their songs deserve a larger viewers. However this request isn’t low cost or straightforward to do. So within the interim, by pooling their sources and songwriting skills, Tyler Hatley and Justin Clyde Williams together with Matt Parks have mustered up a very good introduction into their songwriting universe in North Carolina. It’s one you discover compelling, and wish to expertise in-person.
1 3/4 Weapons Up (8/10)
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