Lost Highway Records has had much greater success co-opting the careers of established artists - Willie Nelson, Lucinda Williams, Lyle Lovett - than breaking new artists. Though the label continues to support acts like Mary Gauthier and Ryan Bingham (for now), its history of dropping acts like Tift Merritt and Drive-By Truckers does not necessarily bode well for an artist like Hayes Carll, who is every bit as idiosyncratic as his fellow Texans Lovett and Nelson.
But for the moment, Carll's new album Trouble In Mind, due Tuesday, will be getting the full court press from the label, and at long last Hayes will be getting some of the attention he so richly deserves. Though he is a Lone Star State favorite, he has also cultivated a following in Canada and Europe (Buddy Miller tapped him to open some dates a few years ago). He's been signed to Lost Highway for quite a while, and this album took its time before seeing the light of day. From what I've heard, it sounds like it will be worth it. Though it's in no way a radical departure from his last record Little Rock, Carll makes good use of the veteran studio hands (Brad Jones, Al Perkins, Dan Baird, Will Kimbrough) at his disposal. The more rocking moments will remind some of early Steve Earle, while the gentler tunes will feed Guy Clark and Townes Van Zant comparisons. Unlike most of the current breed of young Texas troubadours, such accolades are largely merited.
I'm not sure Lost Highway has much idea how to market Hayes Carll. "She Left Me For Jesus" was recently offered on iTunes as the Free Download Of The Week, and promptly received hundreds of reviews, many of which were predictably offended. Frankly, the song works much better in context of Carll's other songs (and is a great capper to the album). But the move seems rather calculated to stir up unnecessary controversy, probably at Hayes' expense. Of course, humorless listeners aren't exactly his target demographic. So time will tell, I guess. In the meantime, here's a slew of Hayes-related links:
UPDATE: Sorry about that link - Hayes' site got a makeover, but the instores aren't listed anymore. He's at Waterloo in Austin today (5pm, I think) and Cactus in Houston on April 16 (6pm). Also, Country Standard Time declares Trouble In Mind the best record so far in 2008. Plus, Andy Whitman's comments about the album from a while ago.
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