While many of us blogger-types are trying to figure out what our favorite releases of 2009 are, I have been enjoying what would’ve been one of my favorite records from 2008. Mac Leaphart’s (Official / Myspace) 2008 release, Line, Rope, Etc… is an excellent album, consisting of some country-flavored folk that mixes in dashes of southern rock seamlessly. Literate and thoughtful, many of the tracks possess an irreverence that can easily be spotted throughout much of Todd Snider’s catalog.

The subject matter of the album shines some light on some of the darker themes in life. He is able to do that in some cases while being rather humorous, like with ”White Line Mercy”, where he sympathizes with a man who’s “woman loves cocaine”. Death, adultery and heartbreak takes center-stage in the album’s standout track (in my opinion, at least), “Confederate Roses”. It’s an achingly beautiful song, one in which I must have hit “repeat” 4-5 times before moving on to the rest of the record. It actually took me a couple of spins to get past the pristine melody and to grasp the tragedy that is the tale’s core. Many people can craft sad and morose tales that draw the listener in, but few can do that and make them sound so good, the way Leaphart does here.

LISTEN: Mac Leaphart – “Confederate Roses”

LISTEN: Mac Leaphart – “Losing Young”

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