The album opens with its title
track, “Warning,” a cool country tune with a somewhat relaxed vibe, some
wonderful work on pedal steel, and a good vocal performance. “Ooh, this is a warning/The wildest of
frontiers, they’re already tame/Lately feeling older/When the growing days seem
so plain.” And any song that somehow gets Ernest Hemingway and John Wayne
into the same line is a song I need to pay attention to. This is one of those
tracks that I love more and more each time I listen to this album. It’s
followed by “Perfection In 3/4 Time,” a delightful tune about being a musician.
It includes all the important elements, such as traveling and weed and egos. And
the line “No one’s asking for perfection”
is wonderful, particularly in light of the song’s title. Like, they aren’t
asking for it, but here it is. I love the humor of this song, of this music, of
this band.
“After Party After Life” has a
strong rhythm on bass that seems to be inspired by some classic R&B tunes,
and also features some cool work on electric guitar. I love the line “‘He never knew when to quit’ is written upon
my grave.” And check out these lines: “And
I should join the circus/I’d be the freak in the center ring/Juggling bearded
ladies/On two weeks with no sleep.” Yeah, it’s a fun tune, one to keep that
party going long after last call. It even has a big finish, so there. “Wild
Animals” is another playful and totally fun tune, and one that kind of rocks. “We was all young once/Real wild animals/When
did acting dumb/Stop being so much fun.” Ah, for some people it never
ceases being fun, and they join the Republican Party and become Supreme Court
justices. Then the next song, “Lead Me On,” opens with the line, “Maybe I’m not as handsome as I used to be.”
Ah, a lot of songs seem to touch on aging these days, or perhaps I’m just more
aware of that element than I used to be (for no particular reason, I assure you).
Anyway, this is a slower, sweeter, more thoughtful number, but still with a
wonderfully sad humor in lines like “And
she stole my heart/Chopped it up for the parts/And sold it to the boys overseas.”
“Don’t Go Trying To Fix Me” is
presented as a duet with Sie Sie Benhoff, and she and Alex sound wonderful
together. I recently saw Sie Sie Benhoff perform at the Roots Roadhouse Festival, and totally fell for her voice. I’m hoping to hear
more from her. This song has an undeniably sweet sound, but as you might guess
from its title, it’s not exactly a sweet song, with lines like “Not a day goes by/You don’t criticize”
and “And I can’t change into the person
you wished I could be.” Yet, there is certainly love there. It’s a really
good song. That’s followed by “Phantom Vibrations,” a cool tune with a bass
line that I can’t help but love. “Coming
in hot, coming in wild/Making mistakes, but she makes them with style.” And
when the song kicks in, there is some nice stuff on fiddle. “Plastic Jesus in the front of the van/Keep
me out of trouble the best he can.” The album concludes with “What A Shame,”
a sad tale of a once-beloved singer who now struggles as the times change. “The shell of a once-giant soul/The crowds
are all gone/And the fans have moved on.”
CD Track List
- Warning
- Perfection in 3/4 Time
- After Party After Life
- Sugar Momma
- Wild Animals
- Lead Me On
- Don’t Go Trying To Fix Me
- Phantom Vibrations
- Emmylou
- Numbers And Figures
- What A Shame
Warning is scheduled to be released on July 26, 2019.
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