Matthew Ballard

Midnight Drive

Matthew Ballard’s second disc features Austin’s A-list sessionistas, and as they always do, Redd Volkaert, Cindy Cashdollar, Paul Pearcy, and Eleanor Whitmore improve everything they touch. Unfortunately, try as he might, Ballard can’t help but sound like a second-rate version of Charlie Robison. The only bright spot, “A Day Off,” finds the young singer-songwriter with some smartass wordplay and a flash of a youthful John Prine.

*.5

This article appears in November 28 • 2008.

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