The Musical Divide

I’m of two minds on the latest collaboration from Randy Rogers and Wade Bowen. On one hand, their team-ups via the Hold My Beer projects thus far have usually provided a rough-edged slice of Texas-flavored honky-tonk that’s fun and full of swagger. I’d say the first volume from 2015 remains the gold standard, not just for the pure camaraderie on display but also for the storytelling and underlying theme of two underdogs trying to reclaim their thrones in Texas after stints in Nashville (even if, oddly enough, a return back to Nashville made for a really solid album from Bowen just last year, with Somewhere Between the Secret and the Truth).

Basically, it’s a formula that coasts on its breezy charm, and while I do think it started to wear a bit thin and show its limitations with 2020’s more settled second volume, it’s still a combination that’s always fun and worth the listen. With that said, while it is a bit disappointing to see that volume three of this collaborative effort is a mere EP this time around, I think that trimming the fat and focusing on a more consistent, punchy package all around may have been for the better. It’s still a rich-sounding listen that sports the same warm textures of their previous efforts, with plenty of pedal steel and fiddle to round out their honky-tonk arsenal.

It may lean a bit on conventional chord structures at points, but there’s still plenty to appreciate: from the boozy, chugging swagger that undermines the tongue-in-cheek joke of “Shooting Hand,” to the big, swinging bounce of “We Ain’t the Only Ones” complete with the backing vocals to echo the various shout-outs, to the galloping fiddle that lends a lot of charm and rollick to “I Moved Into a Bar,” to even a great, tempered closer via the piano ballad in “Dumb Kids.”

I won’t say this album sports the big storytelling highlights of the first two volumes via cuts like “Standards,” “Rhinestoned,” or “El Dorado” (“Dumb Kids” does come close, however), but there is a pretty consistent, settled arc here of two friends growing older and settling into those roles while still sporting the same artistic flair and hunger they’ve always had. It’s lighthearted and goofy in making that point, for sure, but between all of the shout-outs to friends on “We Ain’t the Only Ones” that feel earned and humble in rooting for both the underdogs and the ones that made it big, it’s a slice of Texas country that’s easy to enjoy.

It’s also rooted in nostalgia, not only through that aforementioned cut but also through the smokey, pedal steel-laced “Things That Never Change” and “Dumb Kids.” But the memories evoked feel more personal, like two friends running back through old memories and looking back on them with a bittersweet fondness, even if the lighthearted focus always swings it back around to just enjoying the moments as they come. Again, it’s pretty consistently solid overall – the only track that didn’t work for me was “It’s a Beautiful Day,” due to its slightly clumsy hook and jerky flow - and while, again, it is a shorter collaboration this time around, I’d argue it’s better for it, even if it is lacking the same standouts as before. Even still, it’s a great little listen worth the attention.

• Favorite tracks: “Dumb Kids,” “I Moved Into a Bar,” “Things That Never Change,” “We Ain’t the Only Ones,” “Shooting Hand”
• Least favorite track: “It’s a Beautiful Day”

Stream the album.