Owen Temple – Two Thousand Miles

Owen Temple’s new disc is twelve tracks and two thousand miles of longing for his native Texas. Temple wrote these catchy tunes while living for two years in Wisconsin, far away from his adopted hometown of Austin.

His songs, even the rowdy ones, barrel straight through the roadhouse on the way to better, safer places, like the center of a woman’s heart. He has a curl of Townes Van Zandt’s spoken-word style of singing, which lifts the sincerity and power of his lyrics.

“I Can’t Quit Loving You” lopes behind producer Lloyd Maines’ patient pedal steel. “Love is harder on me than anything else I’ve tried,” he sings. His other songs show he’s tried a whole lot else. “Demolition Derby” demonstrates the wreckage that happens when lovers collide. “Swear It Off Again” doesn’t dismiss what you might think (alcohol); instead, it’s a tender resignation of dreams.

But as dirty and desperate as Temple can get, he can’t hide his good nature. The first track, “You Want to Wear That Ring”, is a redemptive shout-out that rides high on David Grissom’s guitars and the thunderous drumming of Dave Sanger.