It would be a serious disservice to Angela Perley & The Howlin’ Moon’s to simply say that they were just another “Americana” or  “Country” band with “Rock and Roll Roots” or whatever tired shit someone’s likely said in the past. Truth is there’s a lot more to The Howlin’ Moon sound than just a pretty singer and a sound that middle America can hold on to. The Howlin’ Moon’s are a veteran, air tight band with serious chops.

On Angela Perley & The Howlin’ Moon’s new EP Nowhere is Now Here there’s a pretty sizable variety of sounds that aren’t just some pull back to Loretta Lynn or The Judds, there are some genuine touches of singers like Norah Jones, or Joan Baez in terms of smoky liquidity in the range, and sound of the songs presented.

The EP’s sound is a massive throwback to that enormous country mid 90’s sound, complete with the overdubbed harmonies, and added guitars for that OOMPH that producers love to throw in there, but that old school Camero 70’s rock vibe is littered throughout every quick guitar lick, and bass scale. Perley’s sound on Nowhere isn’t the stripped down acumen of Jack White or the bare bones sound MoonRunner honcho Shooter Jennings is currently achieving with the records he’s producing. Nowhere is Now Here is BIG, and it’s Meglo-Mart bright. The title track is the stuff ad agencies foam at the mouth for, it’s got edge and retains it’s artistic integrity, but isn’t the kind of stuff a mom would fall over blue if she heard her daughter listening to. There’s a sense of soul that’s rampant throughout the effort, and that’s to be applauded, there’s no bulky filler, or junk there just to take up space and give the impression of a full-length record.

While, Nowhere is Now Here isn’t what gets played on modern country radio, it’s a sound that is friendly to a lot of types of people, and could turn some heads who would rather spark a fat one to some old Boston Vinyl one minute, and some Conway Twitty, the next. This is country music for people who couldn’t tell you whom a Luke Bryant (that’s his name, right?) or Jason Aldean is. It’s musician’s music, the stuff tailor made of those of us to bear down upon Austin every March for SXSW, or people in Chicago who tune into WXRT to hear what a real dj, not an automated drone spin.

Tangled on the kitchen floor shows that Perley and her Moon’s aren’t one trick ponies, they take Patsy Cline’s ghost head on, and succeed to show a band who is capable of letting that original blues still has a place in modern country music. If you’re in the mood for something light with a hint of girly, but still has a foot planted in rock and roll you could do worse than listening to Angela Perley & The Howlin’ Moons.

Joe Buck once again releases an album with no prior promotion. I love it. For an artist with zero online presence (his website and social media sites are run by his wife or Bucket City Agency), he sure knows how to cause a stir. One must wonder if Joe Buck would indeed draw bigger crowds and sell more records if he did know how to, or own a computer. The world will never know. But, in a time when internet exposure and promotion makes or breaks an artist, Joe Buck is a nice, refreshing contradiction to today's standards. Not many artists can tour as much as he does without a constant internet connection.

Aside from the awkward title, "Who Dat?", just may be Joe's finest release to date. Fans use to the "Evil Mother Fucker from Tennessee", may be surprised with this one, but, none the less pleased. Make no mistake, Joe makes it clear on the third track, "Hellbound", that he is indeed still an Evil Motherfucker, but, aside from this track, the record sways away from the lyrical messages of his past releases. This is a much more personal effort.

I do prefer Joe Buck's earlier releases compared to the last collection "Piss and Vinegar", for many reasons. First of all, the "classic" tunes such as "Planet Seeth", and "Are You My Enemy?" were made to be punk songs, and they were recorded as so on his early demos. When "Piss and Vinegar" came out, I was surprised to hear these punk songs toned down and with clean vocals. With "Who Dat?", we also get 99% clean vocals. But, in this case, these songs were meant to be toned down and it works great. This is a whole new side of Mr. Buck. While, his undeniable guitar tone and distortion are still in tact, this album offers a much more blues sound. For those that may have never heard Joe Buck before, and are not as open minded as some, this may be a nice introduction to him.

"Blood River" opens the collection. From the start, we get much more in depth and   personal songwriting from Joe. Lyrics about growing up, and his parents sway far away from songs about the devil, drugs, and demons. It is certainly refreshing. Again, I LOVE Joe's entire catalog. But, I have been hearing and watching the same 15 songs live, performed the exact same way for many years now and it is nice to hear a completely new sound from a great artist. It just proves the adversity the man has.

Joe also proves that he can write touching, beautiful songs with ease. Hell, we even get a ballad about his wife, with "Tied at the Hip". On top of that, he also offers up "Tango of Death", and the title track, which, in my mind, are two of his best songs to date.

We all have always known that Joe is one of our times great songwriters. He pretty much single handedly wrote and performed "Cockadoodledont", arguably the best release by Th' Legendary Shack Shakers.  And, of course, he was a very large part of the song writing process on "Straight to Hell" and "Damn Right, Rebel Proud". But, this time, he gets all the credit.

"Genocide" and "Evil Comes to Town" are two nice numbers that would fit right in on an older Joe Buck release, and are songs he has been performing live at shows for a while now. "Jesus is Dead" is one of the only songs with no instrumentation besides acoustic guitar and vocals, and it is a beauty.

I can only hope that someone backs this album and gets it the proper promotion and attention that it deserves. "Piss and Vinegar" kind of fell to the wayside after the deal with Century Media became ill void. His demo releases are available as a burnt cd-rs at the live shows. And, as of now, it looks quite the same for "Who Dat?", although it is up for digital release at Amazon! But, again, this is what makes Joe special. An artist in his late 40's, doing it old school. A man not concerned with a quick buck or a straight shot to stardom. Joe Buck loves his life and he wouldn't have it any other way.

One thing is for sure, no matter what becomes of this album, Joe will continue to be a road warrior for as long as we can tell. His live shows are a thing of beauty and must be experienced by any fan of live music. And, with the addition of these songs, it should provide a diverse show from what we have all seen in the past!

3/4 Moons!

Focus Tracks: "Who Dat?", "Jesus is Dead"

"Who Dat?" can be purchased now at Amazon!

Joe Buck Yourself Tour Dates can be found HERE.