Terri Binion – Leavin’ This Town

Terri Binion’s Leavin’ This Town was originally released on her own label, Shinola, and nearly went unnoticed. But among those paying attention were the folks at Daemon Records (Amy Ray of the Indigo Girls is the owner), who gave this CD the wider distribution it deserves.

Binion is in the vein that earned Nanci Griffith the tag “folkabilly”; her lyrics tend toward the coffeehouse scene, but she’s backed variously by steel, accordion and mandolin. As the title suggests, her lyrics tend to be about the roads that connect bad and boring lives to hopeful new beginnings. Road songs are something of a cliche, but there’s a brand-new longing in Binion’s “Nightingale” as she sings of leaving Florida and dreaming of Lake Pontchartrain. But rather than just sing the praises of the highway, Binion poses tough questions. She asks “What makes a man want to get up and risk it” in “One More Number”. The best of the road songs is “Abilene”, a splendid story about driving down I-10 after an abusive incident and trying not to look back. With its tangy guitar and steel parts, it wouldn’t be out of place on country radio.

Only nine songs long, Leavin’ This Town doesn’t carry much excess baggage. The jazzy “Texas” may not appeal to all, and the road theme does wear thin, but Binion is a fine discovery nonetheless.