The Musical Divide

Reviewing Brent Cobb’s albums usually tends to be an easy, enjoyable exercise, mostly because he’s got a rock-solid handle on his sound that he’s fine-tuned over the years. I won’t say it’s a sound that’s necessarily always clicked with me – I tend to prefer his scrappy, southern-rock barn-burners by way of 2018’s Providence Canyon over his sleepier acoustic-driven stabs at ‘70s country and soul through albums like Shine on Rainy Day and Keep ‘Em On They Toes – but I have grown to enjoy his low-key, unassuming style and breezy lyrical philosophy more with age; it’s a good, comforting mix.

And with him splitting production duties this time around with Oran Thornton, I think Southern Star might just be his best effort, if simply for sounding like his most focused and all-encompassing album to date. Again, it’s hard to say there’s much of a change in the actual formula: soft, pattering acoustics for the more gentle cuts and dirtier, funkier grooves with touches of harmonica for the southern-rock cuts, with the only real difference coming in the old-school, weedy touches of organ that lend a lot of gospel swell and natural warmth, and make sense for this sound. But in finding a good middle ground that balances it all effectively, it’s an easy listen that goes down smooth but also feels engaging from start to finish.

Granted, like all Cobb albums, I do think this requires a certain patience and possibly the right mood to fully appreciate – an absolutely gorgeous album in the right frame of mind, but also one that might scan as a tad sleepy if you don’t have the patience to dissect the subtler details from song to song. But that’s also part of the point, and with the right perspective, it’s easy to appreciate a slow-rolling, southern soul album like this through all of its little moments: the playful melodic patter of the opening title track that only picks up greater swell as it progresses; the fun, groove-heavy “’On’t Know When”; the wistful, chipper melodic interweaving of the acoustics and harmonica for the gorgeous “Kick the Can”; and especially the ‘70s-inspired warble that anchors the album highlight, “When Country Came Back to Town.”

I’d say that characterizes the writing quite well, too. At its core, Southern Star is about little more than appreciating the little details in life and taking it one slow day at a time, because time’s natural progression will bring about its own changes anyway. Better, then, to take your time to find your own place in the world, and sometimes just let it be as it will. It’s essentially the thematic arc of “Country Came Back to Town,” a look back over the last decade or so at how not just Nashville changed, but the whole country music industry, at that. Speaking as someone who started writing about country music during the height of the bro-country movement, I had a big grin on my face hearing Cobb accurately recount the history as well as the names of the artists who’ve helped steer the ship in the right direction. And I think wrapping it in thicker touches of warm, ‘70s-inspired, outlaw-era-sounding bass helps to show that it’s a familiar tale associated with the genre – a pendulum effect that constantly shifts the dynamics.

So, whether you want to view it as a recount of how country music got saved, or just introduced a plethora of cool new names into the fold, it’s really just an exciting reminder of why it’s a great time to be a country music fan right now. I’d say the album is more small-town focused outside of that - maybe even more personal in its rambling philosophy of Cobb taking his own advice to slow down at points, like on the title track or “Kick the Can” - and I do think similar tempos and lyrical sentiments can start to blend together after a point. “Patine” is the sort of slow, thankful love song that comes across as beautiful in intention but also feels dull musically, as does the hollow closing track, “Shade Tree.” And while I appreciate having a mischievous, rowdy cut like the hard-living-centered “Devil Ain’t Done” to add better variety, it also doesn’t really fit on an album all about settling down and finding a more tempered groove. But I do appreciate the added perspective, too, especially where despite this album’s simple focus of appreciating the little things in life, it also takes time to sketch out forgotten small town characters on the Tom T. Hall-esque “Miss Ater” who might not have that luxury.

In a sense, then, I’d say Southern Star is more about striving to find a comfortable balance on a personal level, however one defines that for themselves. At least here, the warm, sunny outlook was always enough to hook me.

(8/10)

• Favorite tracks: “When Country Came Back to Town,” “Kick the Can,” “Southern Star,” “’On’t Know When,” “Miss Ater,” “Livin’ the Dream”

• Least favorite track: “Shade Tree”

Buy or stream the album.