You know, perception is a weird thing, isn’t it? Like, I love “Southern Rock”, I love country music and I always have. But I always wonder how labels get handed out and why things need them at all.
When Nirvana came along everyone was so desperate for more grunge that they called anything by that name, I mean, Alice In Chains are not “grunge” and here’s the thing: The Cadillac Three don’t belong in a box either (AIC pun intended).
They’re not Skynryd, they’re not Blackberry Smoke or Black Stone Cherry, and they’re not really a country band (although singer Jaren Johnston has worked with loads of them).
What they are is actually fiercely original and they have over the years dabbled in all kinds of stuff (notably on “Tobasco And Sweet Tea” a funky and fun thing).
“Years Go Fast” most certainly isn’t that. Not for nothing does it open with “Young And Hungry” which is reflective, but with all the things that make TC3 so good. Jaren sounds weary, but the hooks are uplifting pop music.
Happy to mix it up, “Double Wide Grave” is as heavy and punk rock as they get but an off-kilter love song is perfectly done.
“Comin’ Down From Love” they are so good at love songs you wouldn’t imagine. This is Honky tonk ready with a real electronic energy. And this collection is darkly beguiling..”Worst Is It To Come” on one hand it’s fuzzy and understated, on the other it’s arguably the heaviest thing they’ve ever done.
The band might have had the same members as they go into their second decade, but with work like “Love Like War” it’s a world away from the debut, a mature, expansive discussion on a failing relationship. It’s a mark of Johnston’s skill as a songwriter.
As befits him – and Kelby Ray and Neil Mason – “The Torch” is the perfect modern country. You can put any of the big stars on and hear something like it, whether it’s as good we’ll debate.
What I will say is that “Dressed Up To Die” is as country as it gets, but speaks to my point about the songs being not what they are always compared to. There’s a darkness here that their contemporary bands don’t have.
The violins of “Hillbilly” (courtesy of Ketch Secor of Old Crow Medicine Show) give it a feel of Steve Earle circa “Copperhead Road” and Elvie Shane’s vocals are superb. It is perhaps the best – as well as most immediate- thing here.
“This Town Is A Ghost” is another with a real pain, the undercurrent of sadness throughout the collection is palpable.
It feels like they’re experimenting here, and if they’ve pushed the boundaries of the sound since the “Legacy” album, then the beats here are interesting.
Whether it’s that one or, “4 Chords And Proof” it is superbly done and sounds like it’s been carved in the red clay.
“Pistols On The Levee” is another that sounds confessional, and it’s got the same dark vibe as; by and large, the rest of them. Then it explains why: “My daddy’s gone”. As Johnston puts it: “Talk about having some shit to write about”.
Many of us have that, of course, but what the trio in TC3 have too is the skill to pull it off.
Live they’re always wonderful but one or two of their records are a little patchier than a band so good should have, “The Years Go Fast” though reflects on what’s gone on and is a lot darker but all the better for it.
Their best, most personal record in a while.
Rating 8.5/10
