Danny has been playing big rock festivals for a few summers now, and we are beginning to hear how that is influencing him. There is more of an edge here. There are depressing songs that ponder suicide, and by and large, this album is a continuation of the Murder Ballad theme that has driven the bulk of his music. He colors these with different influences, like the touch of Tom Waits that can be felt in"It's All Gone'". He gets rowdy with the spit and vinegar to "I'm Going to Heaven". It stays true to who he is and what he does.
There is a more thoughtful country tone to "The Mechanic" which was one of the lead singles to the album that I had not heard before going into this album. Distorted Western flavored guitar colors "Once Upon a Time at Texaco". He uses more vocal colors to make the stories he tells on this album stand out more. Lyrically it's a more "Natural Born Killers' take on murder ballads. "Cannibal Within" is one of the album's more interesting lyrical musings. He continues to explore mental health themes on this album. The song about miscarriages was the ballad I did not expect. Seems like as good of a time as any to add this album must be listened to at least once with headphones to get the full scope of the production value. Where Danny's voice sits on the condenser mic, is a key element they made the most of. The ballads I can not hear him pulling off at Rockville, but they are certainly honest enough to be effective, not just arena rockers.
The ode to relapses "One Day at a Time" is an odd ditty. I prefer the 50's rock stylings of "Stray Dog". It has an Elvis-like swagger. The last song is more spoken word. It lingers over wanting to be a song and just his pondering thoughts. I will give this one a 9.5, and see how it grows on me. It might not hit the same marks as his previous album, but is a solid enough direction for him, and proves he is a highly effective story teller, so not perfect, but better than almost everything coming out these days and brutal honesty contrasts the murder-tinged story telling.
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