(Rykodisc/Stomp)

Americana shaped by the constant slog up around the nation’s byways

On the face of it, Will Hoge is simply another singer-songwriter who has relied on a fairly straightforward and often-used distillation of basic rock, blues and country to fire up his on-the-road songs of loves longed for and lost. In that respect, it’s easy to focus on the more clichéd aspects of his Nashville-recorded third album. In particular, the twangy earnestness of The Highway’s Home seems to string every obvious phrase about the need to move on from your problems by hitting the road. And frankly it’s not the only example here. The all-too-clear Band link on the arrangement of Washed By The Water dilutes (if that’s the right word) his sincere message of optimism about rebuilding after Hurricane Katrina, and that Band influence also emerges in the organ flourishes on Silver And Gold. But cut through these and other limiting factors (the Dylan references, a touch of John Mellencamp here, Tom Petty there), and Hoge shows himself to have real affection for this kind of music, apparently honed via countless gigs a year for the past decade. But is it enough to hide the more mundane aspects of these ten songs? Probably not.   

**

BILL HOLDSWORTH

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