“Having cancer and recovering from surgery was great. It was a distraction from the severe depression.” Taken from Hank Erwin’s website bio, that was my first hint that the inspiration for Erwin’s new album, The Copper Album, was captured from his own, less-than-fluffy, life experiences. Indeed, that bio serves as commentary on several of the songs. Sung over a slow tempo, lo-fi instrumentation, the net effect is less to set a style than to establish a mood.
A number of songs on the record can best be categorized as southern rock ballads. A jangly lead guitar emphasizes the point on a statement about going back home, Hell Or Harlan. Then on the last song, Hell Or Harlan (Reprise) Brittany’s Melody, the jangle gets swapped out for a fuzzy, distorted squall that would drop right in to some of the best of feedback-laced Neil Young & Crazy Horse. Altana is a heavier twist on the Last Kiss story of lovers in a car wreck.
There’s a country influence on Sally, a ballad about a band van featuring a trumpet accent to give it a hint of Tex-Mex. Daddy Laughed is another country number with some fine pedal steel about having to laugh so you don’t cry. You’re Dead is an acoustic number highlighting bassist Shonna Tucker (of Drive-by Truckers fame) dragging a bow across a double bass all the way down to hell. At the lowest end of the tempo scale is the album’s sort-of title track, Hail! The Copper Queen, driven by a beat from drummer Adam Nurre pounding his kick drum into another state.
As you may have gathered by now, this is not the record you put on to get the party started. It requires commitment. And a pair of speakers: ear buds don’t do it justice. Hank Erwin rewards you for that effort. The Copper Album puts an imprint on you that can’t be lightly brushed away, and before long you’ll come back for more.
About the author: I've actually driven from Tehatchapee to Tonopah. And I've seen Dallas from a DC-9 at night.