2015 – 101 Ranch Records
By Phillip Smith; April 18, 2015
The fourth studio album, Somewhere Down the Road from the Boxmasters (Bud Thornton, J.D. Andrew, Teddy Andreadis, & Brad Davis),
presents twenty-two brand new songs marinated in the styles of early rock and
classic western music. Brandishing a
musicianship second to none, and songs written with blunt honesty and
conviction, Somewhere Down the Road is
a stand-out album.
Breakup song, “This Game is
Over Now”, puts a big ol’ smile on my face as the Roy Orbison influences shine through the vocals and
instrumentation. Another track that puts a grin on my face is “Kathy Won’t
Share”, a catchy song with an REM
vibe, about a self-indulgent stay-at-home husband with a desire to bring
another woman into the bedroom.
Like the fatherly advice one
would expect to get from someone who’s received the short end of the stick for
the biggest part of their life, “Always Lie” hits heavily. Thornton’s
deep vocals are perfectly suited for this dark melody. The darkness seem to linger a little longer
on “Away Away”, as it is projected onto anonymous travelers making their way to
an unknown destination with hollow eyes and what seems to be their whole life
strapped down to the bed of an old beat up pickup truck. Perfectly suited to land on a Quentin Tarantino motion picture
soundtrack, “Don’t Follow Me Down”, a love song with elements of mystery and
danger, delivers deliciously haunting and twangy surf guitar. The “cool factor”
rides high on this one. The heartfelt “Getting
Past the Lullaby”, is a beautiful ode to mothers that will make one almost tear
up.
Like the songs of John Hiatt or John Prine, the
selections on Somewhere Down the Road tell
stories bound to resonate with the listener.
Delivering their tunes with gusto and grit, The Boxmasters aren’t afraid to dig deep, and go down the road less
traveled in order to makes sure the listener gets something worth listening
to. That’s what makes this album such a
treasure.
