Reckless Kelly – Bulletproof

In the late-nineties and early in this current millennium, the Texas-Country scene exploded, not only in the Lone Star State, but throughout the South.  The vast scope of the music attracted many listeners, as the movement represented an alternative to the product that was being churned out in Nashville.  The giants from that not-so by-gone era have gone on to travel different paths and have arrived at different places in the current day scene.  Pat Green and Jack Ingram have become more polished versions of their former selves and now are Music Row darlings. Robert Earl Keen continues down the story-telling path originally paved by Clark and Van Zandt as Charlie Robison follows in the quirky footsteps of Sir Doug Sahm.  Cross Canadian Ragweed have become Southern-Rock stalwarts, sharing stages and playlists with Drive by Truckers and even Skynyrd themselves.  From that group, one band hasn’t taken a detour, but has remained steadfast in their quest to become the tightest and most dynamic Country-Rock band touring today. 

Reckless Kelly has built an enviable and exemplary model for success as they continue their progression from a carpet-bagging, young band trying to make it in Austin, to a well-respected rabidly followed group that plays in front of packed houses all across the US.  Starting with their debut disc, Milican, and continuing with their latest offering, Bulletproof (Yep Roc), Reckless Kelly proceeds with their progression of improving with each and every offering.

Reckless Kelly consists of lead singer/songwriter, Willy Braun, his brother, Cody Braun (fiddle, mandolin), Jay Nazz (drums), David Abayeta (guitar) and Jimmy McFeeley (bass).  While the entire band has stepped up their individual games as players, it is the husk and brawn (sorry, couldn’t help it) of Braun’s vocal that provides the band with its signature instrument.  Bulletproof , is easily the bands most rocking disc to date, however they do not lose their identity as a versatile band, thanks in large part to Braun’s voice holding it’s form so well.  The disc opens with the first 7 out of 8 tracks being straight forward rock, covered by the dust of the roads that this band has surely traveled many times over.  The highlights from the discs raucous first half are “Ragged as the Road“, “Love in Her Eyes” and the anti-war cut, “American Blood“.  Each of these songs relies heavily on the urgnecy created by the percussive, pulsing rhythm of Nazz’s drum pounding.  Braun’s lyrics consist of love, loss and tales from the road, all of which have been staples in the RK catalog.  The real switch here are the lyrics contained in the topical tracks of Bulletproof.  The aforementioned “American Blood” is as scathing as the title suggests.  Constant images of young troops with thier “feet in the sand” combined with symbols such as “Black Gold and Silver Stars” sets up the verse where a young soldier donates “his legs to the worldwide land of the free”.  While RK has long used vivid imagery, few of their past songs have vibrated with such anger.  The second of the “current events” cuts is “God Forsaken Town”, written by Braun along with Robert Earl Keen.  As one of the more somber songs that RK has ever recorded, it carries a similar, introspective vibe as the title track from 2005’s Wicked Twisted Road.  Braun sings from the perspective of a New Orleans native who has seen the worst of Katrina, and is prepping for things to possibly descend into even darker territory.  This song is clearly a protest, but far different than the spewed-venom of “American Blood”.  I feel nervous about what is around the corner for the narrator as he claims that “the hurricane is over, but the storm still rages on”.  The song takes on an almost funeral-like vibe when a soft, sad trumpet joins in.  This addition is a tad predictable, given that it is a song about the American home of Jazz, but that doesn’t keep it from being effective and even appropriate.

The success of Bulletproof is indeed proof that Reckless Kelly can not only offer diverse sounds and topics, but will still rock the hell out of your CD player.  Braun’s voice and the band’s ability to deliver the material he writes, creates a dominant sound that resonates with fervor on this newest release.

To Listen to “Ragged as the Road”, CLICK HERE