"Rampaging, blistering, plaintive, tender, endearing, searing, anthemic, and mournful." Blurt reviews KK's 'AGCM'
Blurt Magazine Reviews Kevn Kinney & The Golden Palominos' 'a good country mile'
by Lee Zimmerman
March 7, 2012
Kevn Kinney has followed a tangled path ever since his days with Drivin' N' Cryin', veering from plaintive folk to Dylanesque deliberation, without ever fully grasping that which was needed to reclaim his former glories.
That's all remedied with A Good Country Mile, a collaboration with the Golden Palominos' Anton Fier, and his first solo effort since 2002's Broken Hearts and Auto Parts. Having evolved into a seasoned Southern troubadour, Kinney has embraced the authority that comes with that distinction, and on songs such as the rampaging "Gotta Move On (Again)," the unmistakably assertive "Challenge," the blistering "Hurricane" and the riff-heavy "Wild Dog Moon Pt. 2," he's clearly comfortable occupying that role. Even so, the second half of the record is where Kinney finds his voice, a high
plaintive musing that brings to mind to mind the fragility of Jayhawks' Mark Olson and the tender trappings of th
e Avett Brothers. At nine minutes, the title track might initially seem overlong, but its bittersweet reflection makes it as affecting and endearing as anything heard from either Kinney or his alt-country brethren in many a moon. Likewise, a searing "Bird," clocking in at nearly as long, ranks as not only one of the album's highlights, but another indelible imprint at that, its resounding refrain boosting it to standards status. "Set in Stone" falls neatly into Jayhawks territory, but it also captures that anthemic ring that distinguished "Drivin' N' Cryin' early on. For that matter, the same could be said of the mournful "Southwestern State.". Given this abundance
of riches, Kinney's time off was clearly well spent.
Having regrouped and refocused, and at the risk of evoking one pun too many, suffice it to say A Good Country Mile extends well beyond anything he's managed before.
DOWNLOAD: "A Good Country Mile," "A Southwestern State," "Bird"