I know that I’ve mentioned it before, but there seems to be an increasing trend for more and more musical artists to blend punk rock and country or other roots music, and I’m loving every minute of it. Perhaps it started with Old 97’s and soaked in enough for bands like Drag The River and Lucero to carry the torch, but (to me) it all just seems natural. I grew up on a steady diet of punk rock and have for the past few years become increasingly fond of roots and alt-country music, so whenever I find a melding of the two genres I’m generally pretty pleased.
One such album that I recently came across was the solo debut of Avail frontman Tim Barry. His album is called Rivanna Junction it sounds almost as if every last drop of hardcore was removed from Avail’s sound leaving only twangy Southern rock influences behind. The tunes that make up Rivanna Junction are anchored by Barry’s gritty vocals and vivid tale-telling lyrics that paint a picture of the hard life that faces many within the working class; a modern Steve Earle perhaps? I especially like “Dog Bumped” where Barry carries on about killing a guy that beat up his little sister.
Some songs are about wandering and finding your place in the world and most songs (like all good country songs) reference alcohol, women, or both. It is a masterful album that shows a little bit of a softer side to Tim Barry, but in a way that (despite the drastic change in instrumentation and overall sound) isn’t really that much of a departure from his work with Avail. I’d highly recommend this for fans of John Mellencamp, Steve Earle, and (well, duh) Avail. Rivanna Junction is out now on Suburban Home Records.
MP3 | Tim Barry – Trash Inspirations Rivanna Junction
MP3 | Tim Barry – Dog Bumped Rivanna Junction
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Great Record…as a big Avail fan i didn’t know what to expect…i caught his set at the last Boy Sets Fire show in Philly last month..and it was amazing…he also had beer coozies as merch..and when you listen to that record you just want to drink.
very awesome stuff. not to say i know shit, but i think it was obvious this dude could write a bitch honky tonk joint like this. cheers…
thanks for the praise on one of our artists. Tim will be doing a full U.S. tour this fall with label mate Josh Small and with william Elliott Whitmore. It should be a great tour.