Teddy Russell – Texas Soul LP

Teddy Russell – Texas Soul

URL: https://www.teddyrussellmusic.com/bio

Hailing from Plainview, Texas and currently calling the state capital Austin home, Teddy Russell isn’t a transplant from elsewhere looking to cash in on the hip cachet of being an Austin based singer/songwriter/musician. He breathes Texas soul down to his roots and the stark simplicity behind his new album Texas Soul straddles a line between the past and present, his own voice and influences picked up along the way, and never stray far from the same go-for-broke spirit of discovery clinging to him since first learning to play guitar in his basement. It’s evident in the first song “Spit & Cuss” – the vibrant rhythms give the song an effortless onrush and the cascading steps of the song’s guitar has an irresistible swell bringing listeners along with minimal effort. “Sway” adopts a more predictably rustic, bluesy sound and the distant echo of Russell’s singing gives the track a lightly haunted pallor. It’s a song that coalesces into form rather than showing all its cards from the outset and mingles artful musical embellishments along the way.

“UFO” is definitely one of the album’s more interesting cuts. The Southwestern flavor of the song definitely favors a classic country slant and it’s a slightly hallucinatory mix with the song’s lyrics. There’s a mix of the concrete and fantastic running through this song so seamlessly that it’s difficult to tell between reality and fantasy. “Balmorhea” has the same evocative vocal treatment as “UFO” along with occasional harmony vocals joining in. The hypnotic rhythm guitar has the same distant atmospheric sound as Russell’s voice and a smattering of plaintive lead guitar adds melodic color. The hushed, melancholic air surrounding this song gives it the quality of a prayer.

“Hollywood” brings unobtrusive organ touches into the mix and strikes up the same languid amble characterizing earlier songs. The stately baritone of his voice contrasts well with the music’s inherent country leanings, but there are grounds to hear these songs in a broader Americana context and the blues influence running through the song is considerable. Russell’s writing is more than sturdy and functional; his imagery and phrasing is often compelling. The pedal steel and woven through the opening of “Young Love” sets a clear early tone and there’s more spot on country guitar accents twanging throughout the song’s second half. It’s one of the lighter vocal performances from Russell as he adds just a hint of ethereal lift to his voice.

The album’s penultimate tune “Tulsa Dream” wafts like a waking vision with appropriately glistening textures slowly unfolding for listeners and the album’s last number, “Texas Blood”, ends the release in textbook fashion with its shuffle beat and subtle variations incorporated along the way. It’s another charismatic vocal from Russell that has the same artful post-production touches we’ve heard on preceding songs. Texas Soul definitely peers into the past for some of its inspiration, but it’s a profoundly personal work as well that stands out in a cluttered time. Teddy Russell’s first solo album has captured what it advertises – an individual jewel quite unlike anything else released this year.  

SOUNDCLOUD: https://soundcloud.com/user-741658816/01-spit-cuss-2

Mindy McCall