KMAG YOYO
Hayes Carll
KMAG YOYO
I bought Hayes Carll's last record, 2008's Trouble In Mind, the day it came out, if only because he was at the time touted as Lost Highway's great new hope. The record did very little for me, coming off as a half-developed batch of impersonations. So when KMAG YOYO (a military acronym for "Kiss My Ass Guys, You're On Your Own!") was released I wasn't exactly dragging the city looking for a copy. But then, on a bored Sunday, the album's cover art caught my eye. The image of Carll, standing on a Houston rooftop, boots off, looking dumb and silly, sucked me in, as did that funny title. I pulled out my phone, hit the 'net and read a few bits of press - all glowing - before buying the disc for eight bucks.
Carll has been compared to Townes Van Zandt and has written songs for Van Zandt's old pal, Guy Clark. He covers Tom Waits and plays with cowpunk legend Ray Wylie Hubbard. Former Ryan Adams buddy Brad Jones plays in Carll's band and produces his records. Carll also regularly claims that guys like John Prine, Kris Kristofferson, Bob Dylan, Jack Kerouac and even Peter Weir (via his Dead Poet's Society) are his influences. So yeah, on paper, this guy should be my favorite singer/songwriter since David Berman packed his guitar away two years ago. Not the case. I mean, I dig some of the songs on KMAG YOYO, in theory, but they're not the kinds of tracks that I find myself nagging friends about. To me, the guy, when at his best, is a Todd Snider rip-off - but without the brilliantly clever phrasing and often desperate sounding vocals. And, okay, maybe he has a little more pop appeal than Snider does.
Well damn, maybe I'm being a bit tough on the guy. Opener "Stomp and Holler" is a song that fans of Kristofferson and Dylan will love, full of, well, stomps and hollers. Carll is a strange bird in that he could maaaaybe appeal to both fans of "real" country and fans of current country, his lyrics often flaunting a novelty appeal that should hook the slow pokes. Next up is "Hard Out Here," a song I want to like. I really want to like it, but damn if Carll isn't taking left and right from Snider, both in his writing and singing. Still, for what it is (a rip-off), "Hard Out Here" is one hell of a country song - the kind you want to sing along to before the second hook hits during your first listen. (Really though, Carll is taking from Hank Williams most of the time - which is just fine.)
And then, all of the sudden, a track called "Bottle In My Hand" kicks in and I've had it. This guy is taking way too much from Todd Snider, especially in his vocal style. But wait … what's that? That is Todd Snider singing? Oh. Well, I suppose this collaboration implies that Snider is a fan of Carll's. Interesting. Anyhow, it's a pretty solid track, though not as memorable as "Hard Out Here," which could very easily be a radio hit - if only "real" country was still played on the radio.
There's quite of few themes here, almost all of which relate to the album's American flag-themed album art. Carll paints a picture of modern, war-torn, sad and scared America in a way that infuses humor and twang at every turn. Not every song works, but Carll is taking from some of the best out there. For example, the title track - and a couple other tracks, too - are almost exact copies of Dylan tracks, "KMAG YOYO" sounding like a carbon copy of "Subterranean Homesick Blues," but with lesser words.
If you're a fan of oft-rocking and authentic country music, then, sure, pick up a copy of Hayes Carll's fourth studio album. But be prepared to dig your way through some overly obvious odes while you're getting to know these songs. If nothing else, you'll end up with a few great new drinking tracks and some fun-to-read lyrics. 6/10
Written by G. William Locke
