Hayes Carll doesn’t sugar-coat life. He knows humans are a mess — watch the news if you need proof — but he also knows there’s beauty worth fighting for. His latest album, “We’re Only Human,” captures that balance perfectly: flawed, funny, thoughtful and quietly defiant.
Carll himself frames it perfectly: The record was inspired by a desire to start listening to my inner voice rather than running from it. The songs are my way of solidifying the lessons I’ve learned, not because I have all the answers, but because I need the reminder that we’re all only human.”
The title track sets the tone with its wry, resigned observation — “Hard not to feel like you’re failing the test” — a line that sums up the human condition. Carll’s delivery is world-weary but never defeated.
“Stay Here Awhile” finds an itinerant road dog finally discovering peace. There’s a certain Warren Zevon quality to the phrasing, a conversational intimacy that draws you in.
“Progress of Man (Bitcoin and Cattle)” might be the album’s cleverest trick — a gorgeous slice of old-time country, fiddles and all, wrapped around a sharp critique of the modern world in 2025.
“High” is exactly as its name suggests: suitably spaced-out and dreamlike, while “One Day” provides the sobering comedown. Beneath its gentle melody lies a quiet steeliness, a determination to push through doubt.
The record feels timeless. “What I Will Be” shimmers with lap steel, while “Good People (Thank Me)” rides a piano-led groove that wouldn’t sound out of place in a New Orleans second line parade. Somehow, neither feels anchored to any one era — they’re simply songs that work.
Carll’s storytelling shines on “I Got Away With It,” where he crafts a completely unsympathetic character and still makes you listen. It’s a skill only the best — think John Prine — can truly pull off. “Making Amends” is another standout, its beauty heightened by the conflicted emotions at its core.
The traditional spirit of the record is underlined by the gospel-tinged closer, “May I Never.” It plays like a revival meeting, complete with a cavalcade of friends — Ray Wylie Hubbard, Shovels & Rope, Darrell Scott, Nicole Atkins, Gordy Quist and Ed Jurdi of Band of Heathens — each taking a verse. It’s a rousing, communal send-off that completes the album’s journey.
Carll has made a record that is both deeply personal and universally relatable, steeped in tradition yet speaking clearly to now. “We’re Only Human” isn’t just an album title — it’s the truth, and Carll wears it like a badge of honour.
If humanity really is on the slide, at least we’ve got Hayes Carll writing the soundtrack.
Rating: 8.5/10
