Chip Robinson – Mylow (Red River)

In the 90s, Chip Robinson fronted North Carolina’s Backsliders, one of the leading lights of the alt.country scene championed by No Depression. He was relatively quiet for almost a decade, but returns to the fray with Mylow, his first solo album. Working closely with producer/instrumentalist Eric Ambel, Robinson gives his old outfit’s vibrant roots rock a bit more spit and polish, with Ambel’s guitars providing all sorts of new colors. The focus, however, is squarely on the songs. Robinson’s vivid writing follows in the tradition of great Southern writers like Larry Brown and Barry Hannah, with his characters’ hearts on their sleeves and their devils in the details. Surging rockers like “Beesting” and “Mylow” couple lines like “I’ve never asked you for much but I need a favor from you/Just keep all those Brooklyn boys out of your mama’s room” with big chorus hooks. Tender ballads like “A Prayer Please” and “Fence” dole out ministrations like “Write me a prayer so before I fall asleep/I will pray my heart you keep with you” over warm acoustic guitars while Robinson’s wood-fired voice keeps the libretto honest and the music true. Mylow both picks up where the Backsliders left off and begins a whole new chapter in the career of a songwriter some thought lost.

http://www.chip-robinson.com
http://www.red-river-records.com