One of my musical discoveries during the lockdown was Sarah Shook & the Disarmers. Their brand of pounding country punk was the perfect soundtrack with which to give fate the middle finger. And underneath the attitude, there were a lot of good songs. So I was looking forward (deservedly so, it turns out) to their new release, Nightroamer, which drops in a couple of weeks.
The band has expanded their sound with this record. Been Lovin’ You is out-and-out power pop. The title track has some that as well, but tempered with a little twang as Shook realizes with self-awareness that “I was made to be a loner”. Please Be A Stranger goes even further and finds a groove I’m going to call power country pop. Shook’s sense of humor makes an appearance as they break up a relationship and tell the former partner to “please, be a stranger.”
As much as I enjoyed those songs, the meat of this album is still classic Disarmers. Talkin’ To Myself is blistering punk guitar and hammering drums in a reminder that mental illness can be just around the corner. If It’s Poison tips its hat to 50’s rock ‘n’ roll style in a slow dance number flavored with pedal steel. I think my favorite tune on the record is No Mistakes. It has an early Johnny Cash beat and an unmistakeable Bakersfield twang as Shook sings with a sincere sense of regret and desire to change that “I ain’t just keeping you around for pastime.”
There’s a fine line to putting punk influences to introspective lyrics. Too much in one direction and you’re just a poser. Too much in the other and it’s a sell-out. Sarah Shook & the Disarmers have marched right down that line in scruffy Doc Martens and sweat-stained cowboy hats. Nightroamer is as fun as music gets these days, and I think it’s going to be on a lot of best-of lists at year’s end.
About the author: I've actually driven from Tehatchapee to Tonopah. And I've seen Dallas from a DC-9 at night.