This week I am highlighting some new and upcoming releases that are exclusively out of my home-state. I know I mention bands that call the Lone Star State home realtively often, but this week I am making it a point to really be obnoxious about it…

Purgatory Road, the 8th studio album from Marble Falls, TX resident John Arthur Martinez (Official / Myspace) is a well-rounded record that dislays a range of sounds that fit rather easily into the realm of Country music. The album opens with 3 tunes that share an almost foreboding darkness to them. Tales of regret and pain intertwine with smoky electric guitars and excellent fiddle playing give the tracks an edge that is sorely lacking in most of Top 40′s happy-country. “Utopia”, the title track and “Cant Outdrink The Truth” would be more at home in a dark, dangerous roadhouse bar than they would a small town honky-tonk.

Martinez effortlessly changes gears from the heavier sound to a lighter tone. The rest of the album features songs that provide a nod to his heritage “Que No Pueda Ver”, as well as hints of pre-arena filling Garth. What Martinez lacks in sheer vocal range, he makes up effectively with a warm vocal tone that seems to suit each track well, regardless of the tempo or subject matter. Dobro, fidlde, steel and mandolin are strong presences that keep this record from easily being lumped into an overly generic, rock dominated ”Texas/Red Dirt” pile. As with recent records from Danny Balis and Deryl Dodd, Purgatory Road is just good, solid Country.

LISTEN: John Arthur Martinez – “Purgatory Road”

LISTEN: John Arthur Martinez – “Cant Outdrink The Truth”

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Look, Tiger is holding The Avett brother's trophy for them...

In year’s past, I haven’t done much a personal “Best-Of” list at year’s end. I have left that up to others, mainly due to the stress level inherent with such a task. This year, I contributed a list to multiple outlets, so I figure I would share my ballot with you here. What you see below is really a big group of my favorite albums, versus an actual list of albums I think are better than other albums. Over the course of the year, I listen to a few hundred records, easily. Rarely a day goes by where I don’t pop in a new disc that may or may not see some “ink” on this blog. From that large number of records, I actually enjoyed well over 100 of them, I imagine.

The sad fact of the matter, for many reasons, there were many records I liked that I never found the time to actually say much about here on The Gobblers Knob or over on Twangville. I said all that to say this. These 25 albums could’ve easily been higher or lower than they are here. On different days, I feel like certain choices were wrong, but this is what I’m going with…for now, at least.

1.  Avett Brothers – I and Love and You: Indie darling’s go big-time with major label and super-producer. The tight melodies and trademark, emotionally charged and poetic writing prove there was nothing to worry about.

2.  Phosphorescent - To Willie: Every tribute/covers album wants to be this one when they grow up. Matthew Houck made Willie’s songs his own while keeping the raw, real vibe intact.

Here are the rest of my favorites for the year (basically 3a – 3x)…

3.  Heartless Bastards – The Mountain
4.  Miranda Lambert – Revolution
5.  Allen Thompson – 26 years
6.  Telegraph Canyon – The Tide & The Current
7.  Deer Tick - Born on Flag Day
8.  Buddy & Julie Miller – Written in Chalk
9.  Ryan Bingham – Roadhouse Sun
10. Gina Villalobos – Days on Their Side
11.  Band of Heathens – One Foot in the Ether
12.  The Takers – Taker Easy
13.  Wilco – Wilco (The Album)
14.  Roman Candle – Oh Tall Tree In the Ear
15.  The O’s – We are The O’s
16.  Sons of Bill – One Town Away
17.  Drive by Truckers – The Fine Print
18.  The Gourds – Haymaker!
19.  Scott Warren – Quick Fix Bandage
20.  Patterson Hood - Murdering Oscar
21.   Charlie Robison – Beautiful Day
22.   Lucero - 1372 Overton Park
23.   Danny Balis - Too Much Living
24.   Chad Price – Smile Sweet Face
25.   Dawes – North Hills

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Alberta Cross was a pleasant surprise for me at ACL Festival, now they are on Daytrotter.

The last few days have seen some really sweet gems pop up on a  couple of my favorite sites…let’s get to it.

• Daytrotter has welcomed a host of excellent artists recently. Here are a few of my favorites

- Bobby Bare Jr.

-Lucero

-Alberta Cross

• Dallas Observer music blog, DC-9 at Night pointed us into the direction of a few choice vids from the new Dallas NPR station, KXT 91.7. Below are my three favorite videos from two of the best country acts Dallas has to offer right now…

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Slobberbone tearing it up at The Granada Theater's B-day party in Dallas.

What can I say about this past Friday night? Awesome? A total blast? A great night that really celebrated the music and the artists of the Dallas area? Yes, yes and heck yes.

There were fellow bloggers and even members of bands that weren’t on this specific bill on hand to join over a thousand fans that wanted to witness the resurrection of the mighty Slobberbone. Danny Balis kicked things off in an appropriately old-school fashion with tunes from his brand new disc. Next, it was Macon Greyson that came on and proceeded to jam the throttle so hard it pretty much broke off. Tunes from their last full-length, 20th Century Accidents were well represented. The set included  The Wrestler’s favorite song, “Black Light“, a song that out-Stones the Rolling Stones. They too were breaking out a new disc. Their new EP can be had for free at their website.  I was challenged by a friend to pay close attention to MG’s lead guitar player, Harley Husbands, and then tell him later who, if anyone, was a better player. After watching closely, I had to admit that naming a player that was as ferocious would be a hard task to complete.

Danny Balis, who is also a member of The King Bucks, busted out his mellow Honky-Tonk gold.

At last, Slobberbone came on, opening with the title track to my favorite Slobberbone disc, Barrel Chested. I have went on and on about them since they started performing official “reunion” shows, so I’ll keep it simple. Fantastic. Truth be told, I have no problem sitting here and saying that Macon Greyson out-performed the headliners, because they did. That said, Brent Best and the guys tore through a cross section of their entire catalog exuberantly. While not as tight as MG before them, Slobberbone still rocked with reckless abandon and exuded a confidence that is fitting for a band that has been as missed as they are beloved in the North Texas region, not to mention the “Alt-Country” genre as a whole.

I attended this show mainly as an adoring fan and not as a note-taking blogger nerd (which I admit that I am, so there), so forgive me for not having a full set-list. As I stated earlier, Barrel Chested, the group’s 2nd disc, is my favorite of theirs and therefore, the cuts from that album were the highlights for me personally. “Billy Pritchard”, “I’ll Be Damned”, “Engine Joe” and of course, “Your Excuse” were all blasts from the past that seemed anything but dated. “Lumberlung” and “Gimme Back My Dog” were gems from other albums that really made an impression on me as well.

Brent & Jess from Slobberbone - Owning the stage.

Aside from the actual concert, the evening was a celebration of the venue itself, as The Granada Theater marked it’s 5th anniversary as a full-time live music venue. Macon Greyson’s lead singer, Buddy Huffman, said it well when he reminded the crowd that the popular theater could’ve picked some big national names to star in their party, but chose to have local talent be a part of this special night and that is a part of what makes the venue a perennial favorite (Neko Case, The Gourd’s, Dinosaur Jr. and The Avett Brothers are some examples of big-time acts that will be playing there soon.) Overall, it was a fantastic night where I find myself having a hard time truly explaining the reason it was so fantastic. It just was.

I missed it when Slobberbone rocked a couple of reunion shows in the early part of the year. I am not missing them again. This Friday the 21st, Brent Best and the boys will get together to help The Granada Theater celebrate its 5th Bday as the best live music venue in town. If you have heard of the boys from Denton, and are just not sure what the fuss is about, the check out this set that was recorded back in 2003 (courtesy of Southern Shelter). Also, Danny Balis and Macon Greyson will be ushering in another year for the venue.

You wanna wish the Granada a Happy Birthday? Go here to get tix for Friday night’s show!