[rating=7.00]
Up until now, Justin Townes Earle has played the role of lothario lush so well, writing songs about his drinking and womanizing habits so poignantly. But his latest record Single Mothers seems to be ushering in a new phase in his life—a more grownup one, for sure. A little bluesier than anything he’s done in the past, Mothers finds Earle taking a breath and ending up in a comfortable, settled place, moving at a slower pace.
The title track is an honest, almost diary-entry peek into life in a broken home. This one hits especially close to home for Earle, and though it isn’t the first time he’s tackled issues with his parents, it’s undoubtedly the most peaceful. There’s still pain lingering and you can hear it in his voice, but it feels as though Earle has made some breakthroughs. “Single mother just gotta move on,” he sings, and we feel like maybe he is, too.
Earle’s voice is rich and soulful on this record, and it feels like he’s focused a bit more on it, letting his notes drag out gorgeously even when they aren’t perfect. But the flaws have always been what make him stand out. He isn’t a technically perfect vocalist, but you’ll be hard-pressed to find an artist who injects that much raw emotion into his music.
Whether he’s rocking out or slowing it down, his vocals feel full-bodied and developed on Mothers, and it’s nice to hear him sound so confident and collected. “Today and a Lonely Night” is an especially pretty display of singing (not to mention a weeping lap steel), and it’s a classic Earle take on New York City, a place he’s always been able to capture so perfectly in all its grit and glory.
Mothers is finding Earle in a new chapter in life, recently married and sobered up, and it comes across in these songs. He’s leaving his old ways behind him for good this time. “I’ve been running all my life/I could have been a master of disguise,” he sings on “Wanna Be a Stranger”, and the choice to stop running, to stand still for awhile, is clearly something he’s ready to do. It’s all part of growing up, and a common thread through Mothers is maturing and moving forward.
“Burning Pictures” is a much more fun perspective on getting over yourself and being an adult. “Aren’t you tired of starting fires and burning pictures?” he asks a fictional guy who we can confidently assume is a mirror image of the person he used to be. “Burning Pictures” is one of a handful of more rock and roll tunes on Mothers that also includes the Southern fried rocker “My Baby Drives”, a hilarious tale of a man being kept on a tight leash by his woman. And just like the guy in the song, Earle seems grateful for it, relieved almost.
Leaving his hard partying ways behind him doesn’t mean Earle isn’t still making beautiful, gut-wrenching country music. There are a lot of positive things about settling down, and on Mothers Earle is ready to embrace them.
