Category:
Rock / Roots

Try if you like:
Drive By Truckers, Jim Ward, Old 97s, Sparta

Jim Ward has been a busy man. In between running his new label Civil Defense and touring seemingly non-stop with Sparta he has found time to release a solo EP as well as the new rootsy project Sleepercar. Hopefully that's enough to convince you. Maybe Ward was rocking out a little too hard with Sparta but the songs in Sleepercar are much more focused on a pop/roots side of things showing that he has a much broader talent than the songs of Sparta would indicate. 

West Texas and Sleepercar was conceived almost 6 years ago back when Ward was still making a living with At The Drive-In. It's taken that long to flesh out the band and the rest of the songs but if you are the least bit curious then you need to pay attention to these roots songs. Really, the first to tracks are more pop than roots but on "Fences Down" Sleepercar brings on the lap steel and dives right into the country head first. "Wednesday Nights" carries on in this vein but ends up being one of the most achingly beautiful songs on the set. It's really a wonderfully personal song for Ward. But it's about fun as well and that's what you get on "Kings & Compromises", my favorite song on West Texas.

All throughout you can hear Sparta but never are you wishing Jim stuck to his full-time job. Sleepercar as well as his solo album are a great extension for Jim to get out some of the quieter, more folky songs out of his head. It should make for an interesting next Sparta album. For now, I'm allowing West Texas to slowly become one of this year's unsuspecting favorites.