“A starving artist with a belly full.”
Sounds like a paradox, until you plunge into these ballads, telling the story of a man so fed up with the bullshit that life throws at us at every turn. “You gotta laugh to keep from crying,” says singer/songwriter Jesse Charles Hammock II, whose new album—his first solo effort—builds on the vivid insights he’s delivered throughout his career with various bands and projects. These eleven tracks take listeners on a bare-knuckled ride through the dark underbelly that lurks around his Bible Belt stomping grounds—and beyond.
Raw pain boils up from a year of divorce. Love conquers fear when he takes custody of a 4-year-old daughter. A game of chicken with a suicidal stallion turns deadly for his V8 big truck.
These songs are a road trip through your soul, ranging from raw rockin’ Americana blues to Appalatchy slop bucket country, as Jesse answers the question “why” without slapping the truth across your face.