SOUNDS GOOD

Country firebrand Steve

Earle describes this album as “the only way I knew to say goodbye” and, in a perfect world, these recordings wouldn’t exist at all. They wouldn’t need to. These songs pay tribute to Justin Townes Earle, his son, a talented singer-songwriter who, like his father, struggled with addiction. But unlike his father, 65, Justin was unable to weather the storm and died in August of an overdose from fentanyllaced cocaine aged 38. In memory and to raise money for his granddaughter, Earle has recorded a batch of his son’s own songs and written one himself. It’s gut-wrenching stuff, with Earle, who never struggles to conjure up blistering sincerity in his own music, driving the tracks into harsher, tougher territory. Earle tumbles through the music with a blunted emotional intensity.

Review by Alex

Green