If it weren’t already apparent that the Texas singer/songwriter archetype had become an established subgenre of country music, a listen to Hayes Carll‘s fourth album, KMAG YOYO (& Other American Stories) ought to confirm it. Carll, a 34-year-old Texas native, plays in honky tonk, country-rock, and country-folk styles so familiar that it’s often possible to sing older songs to [...]
The Americana singer/songwriter rises from the Stephen King approved indie ranks to the major-label sweepstakes on his third release, and first for Lost Highway. It’s a strong if characteristic collection of rugged country folk-rock sung with Hayes Carll‘s Texas drawl, that seems to be somewhat exaggerated so that we know he’s from the land of Townes Van Zandt, Steve Earle, [...]
Little Rock is only Hayes Carll‘s second album, but already he sounds like a veteran singer/songwriter. His tales of drifters and searchers, full of sharp observations and biting wit, invite comparisons to Townes Van Zandt, Steve Earle, and Robert Earl Keen, while his talent has brought collaborations with Ray Wylie Hubbard and Guy Clark. For a Texas singer/songwriter, those are big [...]
In this extraordinary debut, Houston’s Hayes Carll plants himself square in the tradition of Texas barroom balladeers, and pretty close to their front ranks at that. He sings in a dusty whine, delivering lyrics that recall those of Townes Van Zandt in their slouching, unforced artfulness. His writing conjures broad and weary vistas and holds up as well under [...]