If Meet Red Meat had arrived in a plain sleeve, I would have sworn it was a recording from years past by some long-lost Texas duo. That is, until I got to track number 11, “Phone Tag”, a modern cautionary tale bemoaning the communication gap between a technology-aided couple. But then I know that Red Meat (not to be confused with Sub Pop rock band Red Red Meat) is a new band from San Francisco composed of the a cappella duo the Genuine Diamelles accompanied by former members of the Movie Stars playing straight-ahead country music with a flair for tongue-in-cheek songs about truck driving, lost love, and appliances.
Songwriter Scott Young has crafted 12 original songs that will make you either want to find the nearest dance floor or cry in your beer. A few songs are a little too corny for their own good, notably “Inner Redneck”, but that’s a minor squabble. The music runs the gamut from shuffle (“14 Hours From Tulsa”) to swing (“Texas Texas”) to back-porch hoedown (“12 Inch 3 Speed Oscillating Fan”). What makes the whole thing work are the vintage sounds created by the band: the understated guitars of Michael Montalto, Jill Olson’s on-the-mark harmony vocals, and especially the masterful touch of pedal steel guitarist Steve Cornell.