Reckless Kelly - Long Night Moon Review

Set for release next Tuesday - Long Night Moon is Reckless Kelly's eighth studio album.  One of the things I have noticed with these guys is that there seems to a formula that comes standard with every album.  In every release going back to Millican  and The Day, there will always be at least one Waltz, lots of fiddle, the Braun brother harmonies of Willy and Cody, and a sound that is unique to the Brothers Braun.   It is this formula that we have come expect that gives each album a timeless sound. There is nothing trendy or whimsical about it, this is the type of music that when we look back on the history of whatever we call this Texas/ Red Dirt/Americana thing Reckless will stand out amongst the heavyweights like Rodney Crowell, Joe Ely, and such. 

 The first track on the cd, the namesake of the album starts off with an ominous drum beat as the rest of the band comes in with Willy Braun's lyrics. The lyrics tell the story of what it is like to love a man always on the road from both sides of the relationship. The first release from Long Night  to  the radio world is The Long Goodbye. This has been in regular rotation on KNBT lately.  A track that I instantly liked but also one that continues to grow on me the more I hear it. With the steel guitar hook at the beginning and throughout the track, it had me at hello. It is the tale of love gone bad and finally being able to walk away.  Irish Goodbye sets a perfect picture for this story song, with the melancholy sounds of the fiddle mixed with the angst of the lyrics.  Other standouts include The Only Home I've Ever Known, The Girl I Knew, Idaho, and  Be My Friend. Which I think might be the first song  that I have heard that discusses the warped world of social media. Essentially asking us to live our lives in the real world instead of the over dramatized lives portrayed in the world of Facebook.

Long Night Moon fits in nicely with the other albums from Reckless. With a theme of travel it is another well rounded disk from the boys.  Well worth purchasing the whole cd.  Long Night Moon will be in stores September 3rd.