Jeff McCord on the month’s new releases
Robyn Ludwick
Self-released
(Listen)
Buy this at Available at robynludwick.com
Now and then, a young artist arrives with such confidence that you wonder where he or she has been hiding. In Robyn Ludwick’s case, it was in Bandera, where she learned to play, then in the anonymity of Austin’s open-mike scene, where she cut her teeth. Admittedly, she had a leg up over her peers from what she’d absorbed from her older brothers, Bruce and Charlie Robison. But Ludwick’s For So Long (self-released; available at robynludwick.com) sounds like neither of her siblings’ work. She slips into a comfortable, evocative country warble. And she’s an even better writer; despite the clumsy opener, songs like the title track, “El Dorado,” “I Am,” and “Virginia” leave you with haunting reverberations. “I would love to live my life a long time ago,” Ludwick sings, and she does seem inhabited by an old soul. Fortunately, she’s very much with us now.
Jeff Klein
One Little Indian
Dense with smoke and sweating booze from its pores, the music on JEFF KLEIN’s THE HUSTLER (One Little Indian), his third album, completely inhabits New Orleans, the city of its inception. In reaction to his previous singer- songwriter-type efforts, Austin’s Klein has traveled to the Big Easy to make an album where each song immerses itself in distinct sonic territory. Co-produced by Afghan Whigs front man Greg Dulli, Hustler goes for—and gets—much more than a set-it-up-and-record-it affair from its producers. The Whigs was a band of crushing pretense, but Dulli’s dense “I Am the Walrus”–like touch emboldens Klein’s confessional songs, many of which seem to deal with his getting dumped. Even his ballads creep with menace. Slow-chugging guitars sound draped in velvet, while disembodied keyboards float in air, enhancing both Klein’s wood-rasp of a voice and his quiet intensity.
The Greencards
Dualtone
THE GREENCARDS—so named because they’re two Australians and one Brit—got together in 2002 in Austin, where their organic acoustic pop garnered instant acclaim. Recently they deserted their adopted hometown for Music City with an eye on the big time. A good idea? If you count touring with Bob Dylan and Willie Nelson and a record deal upward career moves. WEATHER AND WATER (Dualtone) dabs on just the right amount of Nashville polish while retaining the band’s plain-folks charm. There’s nothing that original about this music—breakneck bluegrass alternates with quieter ballads—but few manage it with such aplomb. Weather will deliver new converts, even if it proves to be the Greencards’ undoing. Bassist Carol Young’s genial vocals are such standouts that soon some Nashville weasel will whisper in her ear, “Why are you wasting time with these guys?”
