DAVID HANNERS LLANO ESTACADO

REVIEWER – GRAEME WRIGHT

Americana is a genre of music that I’m not overly familiar with, but I’ve enjoyed everything I’ve heard from the more mainstream likes of Mumford And Sons and The Lumineers and I figure it’s about time I delve a bit deeper into this style of music. Americana has been defined by the Americana Music Association as “…the rich threads of country, folk, gospel and rock in our tapestry.” David Hanners is an American singer/songwriter who was born in America, raised in Texas and is now currently residing in Manchester, England. In David’s own words the songs on ‘Llano Estacado’ tell stories of dreams, dreads, desolation, desperation and redemption and are all based in and around Texas and the Mexican border.

So, what about the music itself? Well for me everything about this record is perfect. Six songs that all tell a story are brilliantly sung by Hanners himself (who has an evocative, gruff ambiance to his vocal performance which is totally convincing when telling these stories.) He is joined by another fine musician, Kevin Kadidlo who takes the reins on lead guitar and backing vocals as well as percussion.

The first song ‘Romance Of The Gun’ sets the tone for the whole record, being a wistful and evocative tune which beautifully sets the scene and really takes you to the place it describes, the Llano Estacado . ‘Short-Bed Silverado’ is a ballad that tells us about a fire and gasoline couple and is actually a modern take of the Tamar and Judah story from many religious texts. It’s a great song, possibly the most immediate on the record and wouldn’t have been out of place on the soundtrack to Oliver Stones ‘Natural Born Killers’. ‘Mexican Gas’ tells the story of the little known fact that the smuggling of guns into Mexico is a huge problem for that country. Clever use of multi-lingual dialogue (this is in fact how people of the area speak), combined with smart lyrics creates a nervous energy that resonates with the listener.

‘Floyd County Blues’ is probably the most “Country” track on the album and is an intelligent treatise on the peculiar rule in Texas that you can receive the death penalty for a murder even if you didn’t actually commit the deed yourself, but were there with an individual that did. It’s an interesting and sobering song. ‘To Hell With This Town’ is a song about working in the tough and dangerous field of the oil extraction business and is a gentle and evocative track that is ultimately about returning home to a loved one. The final song is ‘U.S 87’ and it’s a road-trip song that describes driving the aforementioned road, the last 801 miles being in Texas. It’s a reflective song where the protagonist muses on life, the past and a variety of possible futures. It’s probably my favourite song on a record that is really strong and I suspect that this is a lot closer to the spirit of Americana music compared to the more mainstream artists I have previously encountered.

In conclusion, this collection is highly recommended and the biggest compliment I can pay to David Hanners is that he has sent me down a rabbit hole looking for more music of this type.

ARTIST

David Hanners

TRACK LIST

1. Romance Of The Gun
2. Short-Bed Silverado
3. Mexican Gas
4. Floyd County Blues
5. To Hell With This Town
6. U.S. 87