Released in August of this year, Trophies of Youth by Kent Goolsby, who also has a good recording made live at Nashville’s 12th and Porter, has the pluck of The Band and also a simultaneous weight on his shoulders that comes out in his voice, a la Jakob Dylan. With a label befittingly titled This Is American Music, Goolsby’s debut full-length album manifests the American music of 40 years ago while drawing from today in a lyrical sense with motifs of superficiality, growing up and getting stuck while trying to do so.
Goolsby’s voice is like a full ashtray—heavy, dusky and varying shades of gray. You better tame your expectations, he warns in the opening track, “Pleased (You Can’t Be),” which delves into the superficiality of a girl who doesn’t “watch too many movies or read too many books/You ain’t gonna turn a single page if you don’t like how the cover looks.”
On “Natural Disaster,” a deep and resonant bass pops like the earth humming a tune as Goolsby paints an understatedly comic picture that includes a “redneck hotline,” while “Crazier With Every Tune” is led by an organic, vintage-sounding acoustic melody and “Boomerang Kid” hits home in a sleepy, country-western style with acoustic guitar picking out what sounds like dusk and the promise of a sunset.
“Rags to Rags” puts a voice to youth with the held-fast feeling and the want for instant gratification: The spirit is willing but the flesh is lazy / I’d love to say yes but I’ll just say maybe / That’s the trouble with us modern men / We want the whole damn world in the palm of our hands.
Wry, dejected humor emerges on “Loser’s Sweepstakes” (some are bound for glory while others are just bound) with the instrumentation setting a haunting backdrop to that scary thought. Cue Levon Helm for the last track, the throwback piano-driven “Carrot Blues.”
The Folks are Goolsby’s backing band, including Steve Daly, guitar; Zach Broyles, guitar; Dan Eubanks, bass; Ben Clark, bass; Daniel Marcum, drums and one of the best, who also shares the drummer’s seat, Shakey Fowlkes.
Look for Kent Goolsby shows at kentgoolsbymusic.com.
