The Warden
Album: The Warden
Label: Idol
Tracks: 12
Website: http://www.eastdallaswarden.com

They say that everything is bigger in Texas. As a Brit maybe I've a slightly stereotypical view of an old-time saloon brimming with rowdy, beer-drinking Texan cowboys. Nevertheless The Warden's self-titled debut album can't help but conjure up such images, with it's unique East Dallas Honky-Tonk resonance. Having been a regular on the Dallas music scene and touring internationally with 'Boys Named Sue' and 'Slick 57', Ward Richmond's first release includes an all-star honky tonk orchestra. Some names you may recognise are Chad Stockslager (The Drams, & The King Bucks), Dan Phillips (True Widow, Slowride & Reverend Horton Heat). The Warden also features guest vocals from East Dallas' finest, Madison King and Leslie McDonel.

Ward Richmond describes his first solo effort as "pretty much lyric-driven", adding that they wanted to "up the quality of the music in order to kick a little extra ass". The Warden often blends old-style country, honky tonk and southern punk to create an upbeat account of the adventurous and (sometimes) disorderly life of Richmond. A wise person once said, "Alcohol, because no good story ever began with a salad". It seems that The Warden picked up on this, as the majority of the tracks on this album are beer-fuelled snippet's from his eventful life thus far.

I love the mix of musical capacity and style on the record, with southern rock numbers 'High Life', and 'Little Darlin' causing a riot in the car on the way to work. Richmond is skilled at crafting an almost seamless mixture of reality and fiction, resulting in a downright outrageous set of stories on The Warden; almost guaranteed to make you smile.

It has to be said that whilst the album is fun and an immense show of country-punk-tonk talent has been laid on for you listeners, I found that there was one element keeping me from playing this release over and over again. Richmond's vocals are the issue for me. Fair enough the album has been dubbed autobiographical, which might account for the almost spoken style of vocals, but the inability to sing along with each track is a drawback when it comes to leaving the disc in your stereo. Maybe that's why Richmond describes the album as "lyric-driven".

Let's keep this one short and say that it is definitely worth checking out The Warden when it releases on January 8th. There is a huge array of Texas talent on show here that shouldn't be missed. This debut effort is foot-stomping, uplifting, riotous and full of character, just like that dirty old saloon we were talking about.

Lloyd Brown