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Mescalito by Ryan Bingham

Mescalito

Release Date: 10/2/2007

Recording Date: 10/2007

Tracks: 14

Length: 01:05:34 Hrs

Label: Lost Highway

Type: CD,LP

Genre/Styles:
Pop/Rock, Country-Folk, United States of America, Alt-Country, Americana, Alternative/Indie Rock

Album Tracks (14)

Song Title
Length
1.
Southside of Heaven
06:19
2.
The Other Side
02:11
3.
Bread and Water
04:08
4.
Don't Wait for Me
04:56
5.
Boracho Station
02:03
6.
Sunshine
04:20
7.
Ghost of Travelin' Jones
04:09
8.
Hard Times
04:38
9.
Dollar a Day
02:11
10.
Take It Easy Mama
03:03
11.
Long Way from Georgia
03:54
12.
Ever Wonder Why
04:59
13.
Sunrise
04:45
14.
For What It's Worth
13:58

What the Critics Say

Loneliness runs rampant in Texas, where arid flatlands and empty highways converge to influence some of country music's best songwriting. Newcomer Ryan Bingham is happy to use such geography as his muse, and he makes his major-label debut with Mescalito, a bilingual collection of Americana that often delves into roadhouse country-rock. To those familiar with the genre, Bingham's lyrics are somewhat predictable accounts of hard times, rivers' edges, and fieldwork, all sung in a wizened rasp whose sandpapered texture is impressive coming from a 25-year-old. Years of sleeping outside rodeo arenas in a truck bed have done a number on Bingham's throat, and when he croaks lyrics like, "I've been working in the goddamn sun for just one dollar a day," it's all too tempting to believe him. When he's singing about marijuana plants or casually slipping into Spanish during a Mexican ballad, Bingham truly distinguishes himself from his country contemporaries, playing the rugged outlaw to Nashville's smooth Rascal Flatts. Where he falters is the album's homogeneity, however, as too many tracks adopt a midtempo pace whose haunting effect wears thin. One can't help but wish for more country-rock grit, but Mescalito still bodes well for his future work. ~ Andrew Leahey, Rovi

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