[rating=7.00]
Extracting punk attitude from country conventions, Jesse Dayton crosses timelines and genres at lightning speed on The Revealer, but that’s in line with the course of a career that’s had him guitaring for the unlikely polar opposites of Waylon Jennings and X. Not exactly contemporary Americana, Dayton’s singing on “Daddy Was A Badass” sounds more than a little like Shooter’s father, an icon of outlaw country, after which Dayton spends much of the album turning preconceptions upside down.
Especially when he revs up his electric guitar. The hell-bent-for-leather pace of “Holy Ghost Rock N Roller” is one more discerning take on alternative country, not just homage to it, while the sense of irony is unmistakable within “I’m at Home Getting Hammered (While She’s Out Gettin’ Nailed). ” Jesse Dayton’s mix of sensibilities mirrors of the blend of electric and acoustic guitars there and the insertion of Zydeco fiddle ion “Eatin’ Crow and Drinkin’ Sand.”
The bottleneck dobro playing throughout “Mrs. Victoria (Beautiful thing)” is a different style altogether, tasteful evidence of the breadth and depth of the of Texas native’s roots. He and Austin’s Brennan Leigh croon their way convincingly through “Match Made in Heaven,” (albeit with tongues at least a little way in cheek) suggesting how comfortable Jesse is with such country traditions as the duet –can you say George & Tammy, Dolly & Porter etc.? The arrangements on The Revealer are as well-wrought as the deceptively intelligent lyrics: Dayton doesn’t just trade in cliches for their own sake, rather he uses them to get inside the characters and the scenarios in which they reside on vivid songs like “Take Out the Trash.”
But it’s Jesse Dayton’s guitar solos that grab most of the attention. The one on “Possum Ran Over My Grave,” exhibits the economy and brevity of those sessions where he cut his teeth, but the acoustic picking of “Big State Motel” might well be the most memorable passage on The Revealer: it’s set against Dayton’s most emotive singing plus orchestration that illuminates the image of the words, encapsulation of all that’s worthwhile on this record.
