Buddy & Julie Miller - see artist discography

Rhett Miller "Mythologies" (Carpe Diem, 1994)
A rock-oriented early album from a founding member of the Old '97s...

Rhett Miller "The Instigator" (Elektra, 2002)
The second solo album by the lead singer of the Old '97s... As with that band's last few albums, there is precious little twang on much of this album; the first few tracks are pure, glib power-pop, with strong hints of Nick Lowe and the like. Of course, I mean that as a compliment, and Miller dazzles with the opener, "Our Love," a clever, delightful tune that is followed by the propulsive, Teen Fanclubbish "This Is What I Do." On a few tracks in, though, the wordplay and bright, easy melodies devolve into mere hookmaking, and Rhett seems to lose his focus -- "Come Around" and "Things That Disappear" are mere musical cotton candy; "Four Eyed Girl" feels like simplistic, cutesy filler. More evocative songs like "World Inside The World" lend a little depth to the album, but mostly Miller just skates along the surface, like a popsmith mostly just going through the motions. It's nice, but not great -- country-oriented fans will find a few cowpunky and quiet folk moments, but mostly this is a fairly vaccuous rock record.

Moonshine Hangover "Mulberry Squeezins" (MSH, 2003)
Bouncy, alt-y cowpunk and honkytonk tunes, tempered with a bit of melodic Southern rock. Not entralling or terribly unique, but fun to listen to, and more musical than many similar efforts. These Portland, Oregonians have musical chops that belie their supposed devotion to the stale, drinkin'-druggin' white trash stereotypes that clutter the alt-hick scene. Worth checking out, and worth keeping an eye on. (For more info, here's the band's website...)

Moonshine Hangover "Thicket" (MSH, 2005)

Allison Moorer "Alabama Song" (MCA, 1998)
With her husky, blues delivery, rootsy musical backup (real country with a strong rock sensibility), and not-overly-ornate lyrical bent, Moorer suggests a canny mix of, perhaps, Melba Montgomery and Rita Coolidge. This is a pretty good record, maybe a little on the sombre, serious side, but with some well-crafted, earthy tunes and a straightforward hard country vibe that by default sets it midway between Nashville and the alt.country scene. (I'm sure the agnosticism of "Is Heaven Good Enough For You" raised a few eyebrows in the fundamentalist recesses of Nashville, but whatever your social politics, you'd find it hard to deny that Moorer had a way with singin' a song!) Later releases are way too pop, but this one's worth picking up if you're looking for a bit of twang. (PS - by the way, Ms. Moorer is also known as kid sister to Nashville semi-outsider Shelby Lynne. Golly.)

Allison Moorer "The Hardest Part" (MCA, 2000)
A transitional album, moving from her "country" roots into plainer pop-soul leanings. Although she's still pretty twangy here, a Dusty In Memphis vibe is starting to take over, and some of the more aggressive (and prolonged) rock guitar interludes are kind of a drag, at least for those of us who already own Sheryl Crow's first couple of albums. Overall, this album doesn't really work for me, although I still like some of the songwriting.

Allison Moorer "Miss Fortune" (MCA, 2002)

Alison Moorer "Show" (Universal South, 2003)
As she traipses into increasingly "pop" terrain, I honestly have to say that don't quite get Moorer's appeal, even when watching her perform on a combination CD/DVD set like this. The tone of her voice just irritates me, it's deep and indistinct, like a second-string 'Sixties soul sister, or even one of those early-'80s "women's music" stars, like Tret Fure or Melissa Etheridge. Maybe I'm just not the target audience, but I can't get past how she sounds in order to pay attention to how she writes. For fans, though, this set will seem like pure gold. It's much rootsier and twangier than her previous albums, and the added video disc shows her and her band at their height of their abilities.

Allison Moorer "Duel" (Sugar Hill, 2004)
An odd match-up between the folkie-bluegrass Sugar Hill label and Ms. Moorer, particularly as this is one of her most crunchy, electric-guitar heavy rock albums to date. The opening track, "I Ain't Given Up On You," has a strong '70s classic rock flavor, almost Led Zeppy, even, and Neil Young's grungy visage hovers over the remainder of the album, even as Moorer's vocals get more soul-drenched and emotive, casting her deeper into the Dusty Springfield/Bobbie Gentry mould... Four songs in, the guitars get so unapologetically strident, it almost sounds as if Teenage Fan Club were backing her up (!) and then finally, she relents and coughs up some country with the spacy "One On The House" and the strummy "When Will You Ever Come Down." That's about it for the twang factor on this one, though... the closing numbers are more acoustic, but not overtly "country." Moorer's lyrics are uniformly bleak, and often a bit too convoluted for my tastes, though gloom junkies should go ga-ga over this one. At least she seems to be writing music she believes in, and injects more genuine instrospection and depth than you normally find on records these days... Fans and the idly curious alike should find a lot to latch onto with this one.

Allison Moorer "Getting Somewhere" (Sugar Hill, 2006)
(Produced by Steve Earle)
There is teensy bit of twang and acoustic reverie on here, but at this point I think it's safe to say that Ms. Moorer has pretty much established that she is, indeed, a rocker. It's not very country, so I'm not that into it, but if you've been digging what Shelby Lynne and Sheryl Crow have been up to for the last few years (or Allison Moorer, for that matter!), then you'll like this as well... Muscular, melodic and intelligently crafted, this is pretty solid "adult alternative" material. Worth checking out.

Doug Moreland "Ten Beers From Now" (Big Hat, 1999)

Doug Moreland "Toast To Life" (Big Hat, 1999)

Doug Moreland "Live: Number Tres" (Big Hat, 2000)

Doug Moreland "Fore!" (Big Hat, 2002)
A live album... Includes an early version of "The Beer Song."

Doug Moreland "Everybody Knows My Name" (Big Hat, 2004)

Doug Moreland "Doug Moreland " (Big Hat, 2006)
Wow... this disc just might top my list for best country record of the year, kicking off with some uptempo western swing originals, and moving into silkier, subtler songs, like the Jim Lauderdale-ish "Dallas," and even an elegant little waltz like "Forever In Your Arms." Moreland, who is recapping his career with great songs old and new, gets a little rowdier further in, and closes the disc with "The Beer Song," a hyperactive, hops-soaked send-up of Hank Snow's old tongue-twister, "I've Been Everywhere." Of course, the boozy novelty song is the one that folks love live, but the rest of the record is really what blew me away... It's well-crafted, heartfelt, literate, emotionally resonant and often achingly beautiful, even on coy novelty songs like "Houston (We've Got A Problem)." I actually had to put this record back on the shelf for a few weeks, just so I could take it down and play it again later, and make sure it still sounded as good as I thought it was the first few times I heard it... And it does. One of the more consistently listenable, rewarding records I've heard in a long, long time. Fans of, oh say, Doug Sahm or old Asleep At The Wheel will wanna check this one out. Highly recommended.

Gurf Morlix "Toad Of Titicaca" (Catamount, 2000)
Texas-based alt-country singer-guitarist Morlix, perhaps best known for his work as a producer, exudes great likeability here on his solo debut, even if the record is pretty choppy, and the songs don't always have that certain magical memorability... It's a nice, loose-limbed, alt-y outing, and his love of many styles of roots music is clearly evident, but it has the feel of a musical lark, more than a cohesive album -- although this may be fun-loving, dorky and joyful, I'm not sure I'd consider it a keeper. It's certainly worth checking out, though... If you 're into the indie-country orbit, chances are you might like this much more than my crabby review would imply.

Gurf Morlix "Fishin' In The Muddy" (Catamount, 2002)
A guitar-playin' pal of Lucinda Williams, Robert Earl Keen and others, Austin-based producer and alt.country icon Gurf Morlix has a strong rocker streak, which works pretty well on this groovy solo album. There are several odd, oddly compelling songs on here -- the first few songs are really catchy -- and plenty of sly roots-rocking riffs to enjoy. On a couple of tracks, Morlix indulges in lighthearted, guylike stupidity -- the penile, puerile "Big Eye" for example, is a mere throwaway -- but mostly this is a pretty solid album. Now I finally get what everyone else sees in this guy. Definitely worth checking out.

Gurf Morlix "Cut 'N' Shoot" (Blue Corn Music, 2004)
A fine album by this Austin insider... It's funny that a fellow who's as well connected and professionally accomplished as Morlix would put out such a rickety album -- his voice is a little shaky, and the production is fairly muted -- but there's no denying his real country roots, as the spirit of Hank Williams wafts through the opening tracks, supplanted later on by an offhand, Gary P. Nunn-ish casual approach. Morlix takes the forms and lyrical conventions of old-fashioned country heartsongs and gives them a playful, goofy, hippiedelic tweak. It's not surprising to see him cowriting a tune or two with Jim Lauderdale, who also has an off-center sensibility -- their "Where There's Smoke" is an album highlight, along with the giddy "Yesterday She Didn't" and the doleful "Lost Without You..." Although many of these renditions are a little sluggish, you can easily imagine other artists taking the same songs and polishing them into gems; folks who prefer the whole "real folks making real music" approach will appreciate Gurf's purposefully unprofessional delivery, although I have to admit listening to this album all in one sitting is a little bit taxing. I like the songs, but the delivery is a little off. Fans of Ricky Barnes and Rex Hobart should dig this set as well.

Cory Morrow "The Man That I Have Been" (Smith Music Group, 1998)

Cory Morrow & Pat Green "Songs We Wish We'd Written" (Greenhorse, 2000)
(Produced by Lloyd Maines)
A swell set of outlaw ballads and alt-country anthems, from Waylon's "Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way" to John Prine's "Paradise," with some stuff by Steve Fromholtz, Townes Van Zandt... heck, they even cover "Stuck In The Middle With You," by Steeler's Wheel, and keep it almost as fun as the original. Green shows his roots, and they run pretty deep. This is a nice indie effort by a fella sort of in the Nashville orbit, and his still-indie pal...

Cory Morrow "Double Exposure: Live" (Writeon Records, 2000)
(Produced by Lloyd Maines)
This 2-CD set -- one disc acoustic, one plugged-in -- provides a fine portrait of this Houston-born Texas indiebilly songsmith, who wrote all but a handful of the songs on this set. The acoustic side is really nice and the electric disc, though initially a little harder to get into, also proves quite rewarding, with some nice, loping honkytonk mixed in with the rattling roots-rock. He leads the crowd in a chant of "Nashville Sucks! Nashville Sucks!" and then makes a pretty good case for why Texas music might be a little more fun. A straightforward, no-frills look at one of the Lone Star State's current crop of amazing musicians... Recommended!

Cory Morrow "The Cory Morrow Band" (Writeon, 2001)

Cory Morrow "Outside The Lines" (Writeon, 2002)

Cory Morrow "Nothing Left To Hide" (Smith Music Group, 2005)

Heather Myles - see "Real Hicks" section

My Morning Jacket "The Tennessee Fire" (Darla, 1999)
An interesting intersection of jangly, '60s-ish rock and doleful, slow twangcore from this highly-touted Louisville band. There's a slightly delicious, REM-ish "what the hell are these songs about" incoherence to much of this music, but also a rather plodding, momentumless quality to most of the songs... It's mostly an interesting effort, though, and some songs might grow on you. If you like Lambchop or Beta Band and bands like that, these guys fit right in. Not sure I'd need to listen to them that often, but they're okay.

My Morning Jacket "...Does Christmas Fiasco Style" (EP) (Darla, 2000)
It's a spaced-out, solipsistic Christmas... Seasons greetings as sung coming off a three-day bender... Your choice of harmful mind-altering substances. Very pretty-sounding music, though!

My Morning Jacket "At Dawn" (Darla, 2001)
Sure, a 2-CD set may be, well... okay, it is completely self-indulgent... but that's kind of the whole point and the real beauty of this music. Besides, songwriter Jim James really hits his stride here, and this is quite a lovely record... Way more rock than country, it's a reverb-washed, dreamy set which strikes a perfect balance between psychedelic rock and neo-twang. It works. Now I finally get where this band's mystique comes from. Definitely worth checking out.

My Morning Jacket "It Still Moves" (RCA-Ato, 2003)
Oh, no! They've sold out...!! (I haven't actually heard this album yet; I just felt like saying, "Oh, no! They've sold out...!!" It seemed like it would make me sound cooler if I did.) [Oh, okay... I've finally heard the album, and here is my review: "There are some lovely-sounding songs on here, and a few that are pretty damn irritating, like the Stones-y "Dancefloors." Program your listening around the variable styles of music, and you might just find a record here you can fall in love with..." 'Nuff said.]

My Morning Jacket "Chocolate And Ice" (EP) (Badman, 2002)

My Morning Jacket "Run Through" (BMG, 2003)

My Morning Jacket "Acoustic Citsuoca: Live! At The Startime Pavillion" (RCA-Ato, 2004)
They seem kinda trapped in the "profound rock star" trap... which is a all very well and fine, except that I find it hard to focus on his mumble-mouthed lyrics, so I'm not really sure there's a "there" there. Also, the live vibe isn't doing much for me on here... This EP's alright, but it doesn't really grab me.

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Hick Music Index

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