Optimistic country, rock and pop from former Texas High Life duo
Rosehill is the new duo formed by the founding members of Texas High Life, Mitch McBain and Blake Myers. Their earlier tavern rock has taken a twangier direction, and Radney Foster’s production gives them a winning polish. The duo writes hummable melodies and lyrics that catch familiar moments such as the togetherness of the title track’s nighttime drive, and the colorful late-night crowd of “Midnight America.†There are college-students fending off hangovers with a plate of scattered-smothered-and-covered, waitresses working the graveyard shift, and truckers catching up on missed miles. The lyrics are rife with optimism, searching out opportunity beyond tough circumstances and finding healing salvation in love. The album’s few notes of pessimism include the alcoholic spiral of “Glass of Whiskey†and the regretful bachelor of “Picassos for Pesos.†Even here there’s a self-awareness that suggests escape routes rather than incurable misery. McBain and Myers celebrate the weekend but never get really rowdy, they enjoy the warmth of love without crowing in excessive celebration, and they see life’s troubles while keeping them in perspective. The music combines twang and rock into something that’s neither Nashville slick nor roots raw; something that would sound at home on country radio without bowing to the Nashville studio sound currently in vogue. [©2010 hyperbolium dot com] 