Adam Carroll

Old Town Rock n Roll

In a weathered, comfortably rough and worn line drawn from Butch Hancock or Guy Clark, Austin’s Adam Carroll possesses a sense for detailed narratives that unroll effortlessly behind a sing-talk style pushing against his limited range. A song like “Hi Fi Love,” meanwhile, leans toward Sam Baker in its direct, unaffected poetics. Bookended by “Black Flag Blues,” the local songwriter’s fourth studio album opens acoustic, hearkening John Prine, while the final, hidden live version stomps a raucous, piano-driven breakdown à la Langhorne Slim. Balancing ballads of touching depth (“Sacred Love”) with odes to rounders “snorting cocaine off a buck knife, three-two drinking, playing four-four time” on “Oklahoma Gypsy Shuffler,” Carroll continually surprises with his delicate turns of phrase. Production kept sparse and raw, the focus remains on Carroll’s excellent songwriting and viscerally charged voice. (CD release: Saturday, June 7, Saxon Pub.)

***.5

This article appears in June 6 • 2008.

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Doug Freeman has been writing for the Austin Chronicle since 2007, covering the arts and music scene in the city. He is originally from Virginia and earned his Masters Degree from the University of Texas. He is also co-editor of The Austin Chronicle Music Anthology, published by UT Press.