Alt-country rocker Ben Torbett releases Bluer Side, an instant classic chock-filled with the tastiest country tunes you’ll hear all year.
Trenchant tear-jerk lyrics, a cracking band, and melodies so deep into traditional country a listener could both laugh and weep at the same time. It’s been a long time since an album could curry instant favour with one listen, but Ben Torbett’s Bluer Side demands those superlatives and more. His irony is as keen as anything Lyle Lovett or Jimmie Dale Gilmour ever wrote, but there is a tenderness in many of these songs that is truly endearing.
Songs of heartbreak abound here, countered by pulsing steel guitar and a solid rhythm section that makes for a propulsive and relentless beat. The backing band is outstanding. Musicians include Ben Torbett on vocals and acoustic guitar; Mark Spencer on electric guitar, pedal steel, lap steel, and keys; Jeremy Chatzky (Bruce Springsteen) on bass; Konrad Meissner (The Silos) on drums; and a guest appearance by Cliff Westfall as featured vocal on “Hiawassee.” All songs were written by Ben, while the recording was produced, engineered and mixed by Mark Spencer at Tape Kitchen Studios in Brooklyn.
Outstanding tracks include the opener “Wonderful Day for a Heartache”, the title track “Bluer Side”, the delightful “Hiawassee”, and “Georgia Clay and The Tall Pines”, but truthfully there’s not a filler number on the record. Ben excels at country rockers and he is terrific at composing country weepers that bring a smile to your face. He’s also an ambitious writer: “Magnetic Pull”, and “The Ghost of Dear Molloy” are unexpectedly ambitious in content and structure for a straight-ahead country album, and reveal a depth of lyricism and musicianship that portend greater things ahead on future projects.
I love this record. If you’re a fan of Americana, of alt-country, of great songwriting, you will too. Bluer Side is an instant classic, chock-filled with the tastiest country tunes you’ll hear all year.
