Nashville-based Justin Townes Earle refuses to be pigeon-holed and seems to reinvent himself on each album. Earle’s 2008 release, The Good Life, has a classic honky tonk vibe, and from there he moves effortlessly through albums that draw from country, rockabilly and soul to 2012’s excellent Memphis horns-inspired Nothing’s Gonna Change The Way You Feel About Me Now. The latest release, Single Mothers, is a stark and reflective album where the themes of loneliness and broken hearts are echoed in the melancholy strings of pedal steel guitar. A few album highlights include: the heartbreakers “Picture in a Drawer” and “White Gardenias”; the sardonic “My Baby Drives”; the tale of unrequited love in “Worried Bout the Weather”; and the title track which muses on broken homes much like Earle’s own. While not one of my favorites of Earle’s – who is a prolific and talented musician – it is sure to please his expanding base of fans. Keep an eye out for the companion album, Absent Father, coming out in the new year. – Written by JFelton
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