Jason Boland and The Stragglers - Squelch

  by Malcolm Carter

published: 11 / 1 / 2016

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They’ve been playing for eighteen years now and ‘Squelch’ is their eighth studio album (there are also two live albums available), but, despite selling over 600,000 albums Jason Boland & The Stragglers, are still relatively unknown outside of the USA. The band for this latest album consists of Boland who takes lead vocals and contributes guitar, Nick Worley (fiddle), Grant Tracey (bass), Brad Rice (drums) and Cody Angel on guitars and pedal steel. Boland and his buddies play good old country music. No attempt is made to alter or add a contemporary sheen to the template. It’s pure country, simple as that. It’s to their credit though that although the band haven’t tried to rework that beloved sound the end result doesn’t sound at all dated. The album literally kicks off with ‘Break 19’ with fiddle and pedal steel vying for attention with Boland’s baritone; it’s a cracking starter and certain to raise the mood on a dreary winter's day. Boland’s acutely smart lyrics go some way to making ‘Squelch’ stand out. “Nothing’s coming through but the static/All I can hear anymore is the noise,” he states on that opening cut, just one of many lines that can be interpreted in a number of ways; given that ‘squelch’ was the name given to the noise suppression button on the old CB radios, maybe that particular couplet has only one meaning here, but like many of Boland’s lyrics the listener can draw their own conclusions. There’s also an element of fun running through some of the songs. Although ‘I Guess It’s Alright to Be An Asshole’ is no doubt directed at a certain individual that Boland has in mind, it still raises a smile. At just on two minutes it’s a rush of a song in more ways than one, and, even though it ends far too soon, lines such as “Genius is always bound to be misunderstood/I guess it’s alright to be an asshole if you’re good” make this one of the rockier songs on offer, one of those songs that has you hitting the repeat button time and time again. ‘Christmas in Huntsville’ is another lyrically strong song (The only song not written by Boland, it came from the pen of Dana Hazzard, the band’s original fiddle player) and, shorn of any kind of the sentimentality which seasonal songs are traditionally cloaked in, despite being the tale of an innocent inmate on Death Row spending his last Christmas incarcerated, it must rank as one of the most musically uplifting Death Row songs ever, notwithstanding the penultimate line, “I got my wish this Christmas/No more Christmas in Huntsville”. Another short, sharp shock of a song is the closing ‘Fuck, Fight and Rodeo’. At just over two minutes long, the fiddle playing is so addictive and there’s the danger that you’ll find yourself singing along at the most inappropriate times, but lyrically again Boland throws the listener. Given the title you’d be forgiven for thinking that this was going to be some kind of macho drinking song, but Boland appears to be taking a dig at certain people in power. There are a number of heartbreaking ballads on ‘Squelch’. ‘Holy Relic Sale’ and ‘Do You Love Me Any Less’ are two that shine particularly bright, Boland’s baritone being perfectly suited to these slower cuts. There’s not a wasted moment on the album and enough variety between the songs to keep things entertaining and to guarantee that the album will gather many plays. From the party vibe of ‘Fat and Merry’ (again the lyrics are ultimately at odds with the good-time feel of the music) to the smouldering soul-infused ‘Lose Early’, taking in good old-time country rockers and some of the most heart-wrenching ballads ever to grace a country album, ‘Squelch’ is not only a worthy addition to Jason Boland & The Stragglers canon but to any country music fan’s collection.

Track Listing:-

1 Break 19
2 The First to Know
3 I Guess It's Alright to Be an Asshole
4 Holy Relic Sale
5 Heartland Bypass
6 Lose Early
7 Do You Love Me Any Less
8 Fat and Merry
9 Christmas in Huntsville
10 Bienville
11 Fuck, Fight, and Rodeo

Band Links:-

http://www.thestragglers.com/
https://www.facebook.com/Jason-Boland-The-Stragglers-112540055479124/
https://twitter.com/bolandstraggler
https://www.youtube.com/user/stragglerTV
http://instagram.com/jasonbolandandthestragglers

Label Links:-

http://www.thirtytigers.com/
https://www.facebook.com/thirtytigers
https://twitter.com/thirtytigers
https://instagram.com/thirtytigers/
http://thirtytigers.tumblr.com/

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