Drunk, Heart Broke, and Ready to Sing About It

Graham Lindsey understands the importance of making a good impression in a short amount of time. As a youngster, he spent time in punk rock bands, where acts often only had a 25-minute set and a four-song 7” to make a permanent impression. So it should be no surprise that his second solo disc, Hell Under the Skullbones, clocks in at a little more than half an hour. And it doesn’t matter that this is closer to traditional country and western music than blistering punk rock; Lindsey wants you to remember all of his tunes, not just the first half-dozen before they get weighed down by another hour of filler.

Sporting a voice similar to Bob Dylan in phrasing, if not in tone, and possessing a sharp sense of song, Lindsey takes us along 10 dark journeys into the heart of a man much older than his years. “Goddamn your twilight eyes, babe”, he sings at the top of “Elly Bly”, and by the end, he intones “Goodnight Ms. Bly, goodnight / One of must leave this bed alive”. So, certainly not a lullaby.

In general, this isn’t an album to listen to if you want to keep in a good mood. There are a lot of traditional country, folk, and blues subjects explored here, including death, breakups, death, dying, death, trains, death, drinking, and, of course, death. Though the subjects are maudlin, Lindsey keeps the music varied, starting with a roots-laden country-rock sound and then moving off into different directions as the song merits. “Hole in the Ground”, for example, is a waltz—as performed by characters from a Tom Waits song, but a waltz nonetheless.

Sure, I wish Lindsey would expand his lyrical pallet a bit, and his musical choices are often a bit easy (the simple acoustic guitar on “Brakeman’s Ballad”), but he shows so much potential throughout the collection that I’m willing to cut him some slack. Add in fierce playing from his sideman (check out Moris Tepper’s fierce electric guitar work on “Slow Train Stomp”) and you have an album that—so rare in these days—truly leaves you wanting more.