Bootcut

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The music of Afie Jurvanen, aka Bahamas, has always exuded a certain heartland rusticity, though he injects his songs with enough unique quirks—whether slippery soul grooves, off-kilter guitar solos, or wry observations on modern dadhood—to keep it from ossifying into roots-rock traditionalism. But on his sixth album, the Canadian songwriter digs his heels deep into the Tennessee dirt. <i>BOOTCUT</i> is the product of a Nashville pilgrimage that finds Jurvanen backed by a small army of Music City pros, including guitarist Vince Gill, Kenny Rogers sideman Russ Pahl, and Johnny Cash bassist Dave Roe, among many others. The conjoined opening tracks, “Girls Bugging Me” and “Just a Song,” provide an instant before/after snapshot of the experiment: The former is a raw phone recording of Jurvanen test-driving the latter song on acoustic guitar for his daughters, before the curtains open up to reveal a splendorous pedal-steeled serenade, as if he were stepping from black-and-white into Technicolor. But while <i>BOOTCUT</i> sees Jurvanen fully embrace the role of saloon troubadour on tender ballads like “Second Time Around” and “Nothing Blows My Mind,” this is still very much a Bahamas record, loaded with smooth funk moves (“I’m Still”) and cheeky character sketches (see: “Gone Girl Gone,” a roadhouse rave-up that updates the breakup song for the OnlyFans age). And for longtime followers of Jurvanen, there’s a golden Easter egg in the form of a revamped “Sports Car.” It’s a tune that dates back to his mid-2000s indie combo Paso Mino, but it fits right in here as it takes an evergreen Nashviille songwriting topic—the love of a good automobile—and weaves it into a poignant portrait of family dysfunction.

via Apple Music

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