TYLOR & THE TRAIN ROBBERS -
BEST OF THE WORST KIND
2019 - Self Released
'Best of the worst kind' is the second album release from this talented band and follows on from their excellent 2017 debut 'Gravel,' a recording so good that it still gets regular plays in my house. Despite the fact that, to me at least, that debut has achieved greatness, this new recording ups the quality by at least a notch, making it the front runner for my album of the year with eight months still to go!
The four man band is based in Boise, Idaho and consists of Tylor Ketchum on guitar, vocals and songwriting, his brother Jason Bushman on bass and vocal harmonies, Tylor's soon to be father in law (maybe he even is by now!) Johnny 'Shoes' Pisano plays lead guitar and the excellent Flip Perkins is on drums. There is a powerful 'sibling chemistry between Tylor and Jason that shows on the emotion drenched, beautifully blended harmonies.
I should say from the start that Tylor's songwriting takes him into the upper reaches of 'country,' or any other genre if it comes to that, songwriters thanks to his ability to not only come up with powerful lyrics that have a strong sense of raw, gritty realism, rather than the smoothed off edges and predictability that we usually find in commercial country music, but also his 'ear worm' melodies. To that has to be added his edgy, hugely evocative vocals that define the 'realness' of virtually everything he sings, moving country music out of the highly scripted, sanitized 'soap operas' that many sing about, into a real world that is packed with a great depth of feelings and intense drama.
This music would sell in the millions if only the masses could hear it, but of course that would mean a record company giving it the promotion it so richly deserves, something that seems to become more unlikely with each passing year as digital downloading and streaming takes over. It seems a shame though, when you consider that there is little in any of the music charts that gets anywhere near the quality of the twelve songs on this quite magnificent collection. Similarly many other albums that hugely talented 'under the radar' artists have had to finance through imaginative schemes, day jobs, online appeals and anything else that will give them the ability to get their music heard.
The album opens with Lost and lonely miles, an excellent, easy going mid tempo country song with chiming, melodic guitar and gorgeous steel adding greater depth, supported by the throbbing bass and metronomic percussion, all topped off by Tylor's expressive vocal that is perfect for giving life to the characters in his outstanding songs. On the edgier side of country and alt. country music there are just a few artists whose vocals seem to be made for that particular genre and of whom it is impossible to imagine them performing any other genre of music; Tylor Ketchum must now be added to those few. Whilst every song on this tremendous recording is absolutely essential to your listening pleasure the song that defines the album is The ballad of Black Jack Ketchum, the highly descriptive tale of Tylor's notorious outlaw great, great grandfather. The album's release date of 26th April is the 118th anniversary of Black Jack's gory hanging in the town of Clayton, New Mexico. Listen to the lyrics and you will get lost in the story of this notorious outlaw. The playing is excellent and perfectly supports the lyrical content but still retains a beautiful melodicism, with Tylors emotional depiction of the life of his ancestor making this one of the truly great murder ballads, leaving most of the 1950s 'gunfighter' ballads in the shade. Whilst they had excellent stories everything else had a distinctly sanitized feel like much of today's country music, but this song, as with all of the other eleven songs has a powerful and 'real' grittiness. A lovely melodic twang supports Tylors slightly restrained vocal on Fumblin' for rhymes, yet another great story song, this one performed at an easy 'rolling' mid tempo that tells of the itinerant lifestyle of a singer songwriter as he tries to come up with new songs. As with his other songs the listener can almost lose themselves in the world he creates, such is the strength of the emotional content and characterization, creating a virtual cinematic world; and a nonfiction world at that! A gentle acoustic guitar intro leads to Tylor's expressive vocal on Few and far between, supported by some lovely feminine harmonies on a song that has the feel of a young John Prine. As the song develops it becomes a beautiful duet with Tylor's fiancé, Jennifer Pisano, a young lady whose vocal is both gorgeous and evocative, providing a perfect foil to Tylor's grit! Apparently she often plays live with the band and who knows, maybe she will record in her own right; it certainly sounds as if she has the talent. Final mention is of Construction, perhaps the most Prine like song on the whole album, with it's down to earth highly descriptive theme that includes a slightly humorous edge and some excellent harmonies, chiming guitars and a nice guitar solo.
This is a recording that has an extraordinarily 'real' feel. Tylor and the band are so obviously comfortable in each other's company; certainly musically. The arrangements, as well as the playing, are just about perfect for these twelve superb songs, that regardless of how many times I've listened to them; I just never tire of. The album is as fresh, after literally dozens of listens, as it was after the first, whilst the effect on the emotions is again as marked as at the start. As an album that is very much driven by the lyrical quality, unlike many other word driven recordings, this one includes 'ear worm' melodies, a gritty, often edgy atmosphere, superb playing and arrangements and a vocalist who not only has a natural but edgy warmth in his voice but also the ability to express whatever emotion his songs require. I can quite easily see people who ordinarily don't like country music, because they relate it to Nashville's glossy country pop, being drawn into the stories, the great songs and the all round 'edginess' on this disc. In my world, which is not too far removed from the real world, this album has attained the feel of a 'modern classic' already so let's just hope that this hugely gifted singer, songwriter and band are able to continue releasing great albums far into the future. It's impossible to imagine that they are not going to have the huge success they so richly deserve on the back of these two incredible albums.
https://www.tylorandthetrainrobbers.com/
'Best of the worst kind' is the second album release from this talented band and follows on from their excellent 2017 debut 'Gravel,' a recording so good that it still gets regular plays in my house. Despite the fact that, to me at least, that debut has achieved greatness, this new recording ups the quality by at least a notch, making it the front runner for my album of the year with eight months still to go!
The four man band is based in Boise, Idaho and consists of Tylor Ketchum on guitar, vocals and songwriting, his brother Jason Bushman on bass and vocal harmonies, Tylor's soon to be father in law (maybe he even is by now!) Johnny 'Shoes' Pisano plays lead guitar and the excellent Flip Perkins is on drums. There is a powerful 'sibling chemistry between Tylor and Jason that shows on the emotion drenched, beautifully blended harmonies.
I should say from the start that Tylor's songwriting takes him into the upper reaches of 'country,' or any other genre if it comes to that, songwriters thanks to his ability to not only come up with powerful lyrics that have a strong sense of raw, gritty realism, rather than the smoothed off edges and predictability that we usually find in commercial country music, but also his 'ear worm' melodies. To that has to be added his edgy, hugely evocative vocals that define the 'realness' of virtually everything he sings, moving country music out of the highly scripted, sanitized 'soap operas' that many sing about, into a real world that is packed with a great depth of feelings and intense drama.
This music would sell in the millions if only the masses could hear it, but of course that would mean a record company giving it the promotion it so richly deserves, something that seems to become more unlikely with each passing year as digital downloading and streaming takes over. It seems a shame though, when you consider that there is little in any of the music charts that gets anywhere near the quality of the twelve songs on this quite magnificent collection. Similarly many other albums that hugely talented 'under the radar' artists have had to finance through imaginative schemes, day jobs, online appeals and anything else that will give them the ability to get their music heard.
The album opens with Lost and lonely miles, an excellent, easy going mid tempo country song with chiming, melodic guitar and gorgeous steel adding greater depth, supported by the throbbing bass and metronomic percussion, all topped off by Tylor's expressive vocal that is perfect for giving life to the characters in his outstanding songs. On the edgier side of country and alt. country music there are just a few artists whose vocals seem to be made for that particular genre and of whom it is impossible to imagine them performing any other genre of music; Tylor Ketchum must now be added to those few. Whilst every song on this tremendous recording is absolutely essential to your listening pleasure the song that defines the album is The ballad of Black Jack Ketchum, the highly descriptive tale of Tylor's notorious outlaw great, great grandfather. The album's release date of 26th April is the 118th anniversary of Black Jack's gory hanging in the town of Clayton, New Mexico. Listen to the lyrics and you will get lost in the story of this notorious outlaw. The playing is excellent and perfectly supports the lyrical content but still retains a beautiful melodicism, with Tylors emotional depiction of the life of his ancestor making this one of the truly great murder ballads, leaving most of the 1950s 'gunfighter' ballads in the shade. Whilst they had excellent stories everything else had a distinctly sanitized feel like much of today's country music, but this song, as with all of the other eleven songs has a powerful and 'real' grittiness. A lovely melodic twang supports Tylors slightly restrained vocal on Fumblin' for rhymes, yet another great story song, this one performed at an easy 'rolling' mid tempo that tells of the itinerant lifestyle of a singer songwriter as he tries to come up with new songs. As with his other songs the listener can almost lose themselves in the world he creates, such is the strength of the emotional content and characterization, creating a virtual cinematic world; and a nonfiction world at that! A gentle acoustic guitar intro leads to Tylor's expressive vocal on Few and far between, supported by some lovely feminine harmonies on a song that has the feel of a young John Prine. As the song develops it becomes a beautiful duet with Tylor's fiancé, Jennifer Pisano, a young lady whose vocal is both gorgeous and evocative, providing a perfect foil to Tylor's grit! Apparently she often plays live with the band and who knows, maybe she will record in her own right; it certainly sounds as if she has the talent. Final mention is of Construction, perhaps the most Prine like song on the whole album, with it's down to earth highly descriptive theme that includes a slightly humorous edge and some excellent harmonies, chiming guitars and a nice guitar solo.
This is a recording that has an extraordinarily 'real' feel. Tylor and the band are so obviously comfortable in each other's company; certainly musically. The arrangements, as well as the playing, are just about perfect for these twelve superb songs, that regardless of how many times I've listened to them; I just never tire of. The album is as fresh, after literally dozens of listens, as it was after the first, whilst the effect on the emotions is again as marked as at the start. As an album that is very much driven by the lyrical quality, unlike many other word driven recordings, this one includes 'ear worm' melodies, a gritty, often edgy atmosphere, superb playing and arrangements and a vocalist who not only has a natural but edgy warmth in his voice but also the ability to express whatever emotion his songs require. I can quite easily see people who ordinarily don't like country music, because they relate it to Nashville's glossy country pop, being drawn into the stories, the great songs and the all round 'edginess' on this disc. In my world, which is not too far removed from the real world, this album has attained the feel of a 'modern classic' already so let's just hope that this hugely gifted singer, songwriter and band are able to continue releasing great albums far into the future. It's impossible to imagine that they are not going to have the huge success they so richly deserve on the back of these two incredible albums.
https://www.tylorandthetrainrobbers.com/