By Andrew W. Griffin
pop writer
Reckless Kelly, one of the strongest acts to come out of the Texas/Red Dirt scene (albeit via their Idaho and Oregon roots) has stepped things up a notch or two on their tremendous and powerful new album "Bulletproof."
With the first track and first single "Ragged As the Road" the number one song on the Texas Music charts, the Braun brothers and their crew have shown their fans that they could equal and improve upon 2005's outstanding "Wicked Twisted Road."
And the songs get better and better. The appealing alt-country of "How Was California?," complete with Lloyd Maines on pedal steel, looks at California, Texas and New York and notes that when you get right down to it they're all the same, with problems and such. Sounds familiar.
It must be said that Reckless Kelly has never been a political band. Yet the song "American Blood" is one of their most overtly topical and thought-provoking songs ever, with the subject being an Iraq war veteran returning home after donating "his legs to the worldwide land of the free."
Set to a driving beat and with "Now George (Bush) stands up on a boat / proudly waving the flag / he says the hard part's over / and we knew it wouldn't be so bad / but roadside bombs and six long years / were never really part of the plan / what's a couple thousand more / with American blood on their hands."
Outside of guys like Todd Snider, you're not apt to hear songs so overtly critical of the current administration. Bless Reckless Kelly for being so bold and telling it like it is. Just check out the new film "Stop-Loss" and take in the visual version of what Reckless Kelly is saying in this amazing song.
Willy Braun is joined by his brother Micky Braun of Micky -- The Motorcars on "Passin' Through" and "Don't Say Goodbye." The songs are Micky and his band have just released a new album, "Na?ve," out this week.
Willy Braun co-wrote a more acoustic song called "God Forsaken Town" with Texas Music icon Robert Earl Keen. On this track they really hit the mark with this emotional and descriptive song about a man in New Orleans in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and the failed levees. Love that horn, man!
Lyrically, "I Never Had a Chance" is pretty run of the mill. But the sad sack in the song sounds so earnest, particularly against the acoustic guitars, Cody Braun's fiddle and Willy Braun's convincing vocals.
It's clear that Reckless Kelly is improving with age. "Bulletproof" is a solid effort and gets better with each listen.
Grade: A
Entertainment
Reckless Kelly shows serious refinement on 'Bulletproof'
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