Album Review: "Welcome to Hard Times" by Charley Crockett

By MichaelMomper

Charley Crockett is a man who is no stranger to the pain and sorrow felt by so many in 2020, and on his new album Welcome to Hard Times the feelings of loneliness are perfectly captured in a unique Western motif.

Crockett has been all over, and has seen much more than most 36-year-old men. A distant relative of Davy Crockett, Charley grew up in a trailer in Texas and spent most of his adolescence hitchhiking, sleeping in fields and in the street, and performing constantly with the hopes of making enough money for a meal or a bed. He is of black, Jewish, Creole and Cajun heritage, and his diverse background is shown all throughout his unique brand of high-and-lonesome Western tunes. He has released 6 albums in the past 4 years, and his passion for the songs has garnered him critical acclaim and, recently, his first Grand Ole Opry performance.

Welcome to Hard Times is both an ancient-sounding record, and yet simultaneously as fresh as can be. It was largely written, and named, before the scourge of COVID-19 and its darkness can largely be attributed to the fact that Crockett was recovering from life-saving open heart surgery when he wrote it. It is his best album yet, with sparse instrumentation and eerie gothic styling throughout. Like the best folk and Western music, much of it has such a timeless feel that it could be passed off as recently uncovered gems from the early 20th century.

This album may have a throwback approach to country music, but it is far from dated or worn-out. Charley's unique experiences bring a freshness to the stories, told with a bluesy swagger and the confidence of his deep baritone voice. Songs like "The Poplar Tree", "Don't Cry", and "The Man that Time Forgot" are full of inspiration from the untamed and secluded parts of the West, while Charley conveys heartache and pain with minimal accompaniment. The record is full of beautiful pedal steel guitar that adds to the loneliness of the atmosphere, and you can practically see the tumbleweeds go by with the airy strumming of Charley's acoustic guitar and banjo. It is sparse instrumentation throughout; occasionally too sparse even for my attention span as I felt a couple of the songs could have benefited from even a subtle electric guitar lick here and there. Even still, the instrumentation is largely an asset as it highlights the dark gothic feel throughout, and subtlety is surely the name of the game in a country genre that is now polluted with sampled snap-tracks, lyrics like "Body like a backroad", pandering sentiment about being the only smalltown boy a girl needs, and downright cringe-inducing white-boy rapping.

If you are looking for lush instrumental layering with swells of big refrains, sing-alongs and guitar solos, avoid this album. This an outlaw album, a diamond in the rough. This album lives in the canyons, the mountains, and the high lonesome deserts. It is subtle, but without a doubt it's contemplative. In a recent interview Charley explained "I'm sort of rebellious by nature... I think nowadays it's actually rebellious to be a traditionalist." It seems to me that his analysis is dead-on: while the rest of the genre sways to the newest trend, Charley's take on the cinematic and heartbreaking nature of Western music is bolstered by his hard-living experiences and outlaw past. It's a beautiful rebellion indeed.

Rating: 90/100