Following the success of Justin Townes Earle's fifth-studio-album, Single Mothers, comes his companion album.
The 10 tracks were recorded alongside Single Mothers with the original intention being to release a double album. Earle changed his mind, feeling that each half needed to make its own statement.
Steve Earle may have been physically absent from most of his son's life but the strength and integrity of his son's song writing means that no paternity test is necessary.
As with the previous album, the source of the painful feelings emanate from when Earle Sr. left the family home when Justin was just two years old.
His offspring is in no doubt of the scars this caused: "I've suffered for your foolish heart and desperate need" he sings on the opening track Farther From Me.
The accusatory 'you' songs that make up the bulk of this album also seem to be directed at women he has broken up with (Least I Got The Blues, for example) but there can be little doubt that JTE 's feelings of abandonment primarily derive from his father's absence.
Neither this album nor its predecessor make light of the painful childhood memories. The songs appear to draw upon a cathartic need to draw a line under the feelings of resentment and betrayal to enable him to move on.
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A strong residue of pessimism remains however in a song like Day And Night which is coloured by a dogged refusal to look on the bright side: "You say the world keeps turning, but still I have my doubts".
Although Justin Townes Earle maintains he is now in a more stable frame of mind and not driven by anger, this album shows that he is all too conscious of living in a world of change and uncertainty.
The fact that the final track is entitled Looking For A Place To Land addresses the fear that he still hasn't found what he's looking for.
The one consolation, from a selfish listener's perspective, is while he continues his quest for peace of mind, he is writing the best songs of his career.
Justin Townes Earle website
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