Most importantly, these guys are all from Oklahoma, grew up literally down the highway from me, and are about the same age. I connect with these songs on a different, homegrown level. For instance, "Carry You Home" captures perfectly the struggle with faith and people of faith that I am going through right now, but reaffirms the essentials of the faith, which is salvation through Christ. I don't think a band from outside of the The Bible Belt could have written a song like "Carry You Home:"

I'm not pointin' fingers, don't get me wrong
Cause I drink and smoke and cuss
And carry on
This is my opinion and it's all that it is
To let you know that my devotion is his
I'll admit that I'm not a Saint
I know what I can - I know what I can't do
I can't judge your right from your wrong
You are you and I am my own
I don't read the Bible everyday
I can't understand most of it anyway
But I know where I'll go when my number is shown

Also, whether it is from being on the road for almost 10 years, or simply being from Oklahoma and wanting to get the hell out, Cross Canadian captures the restlessness that I think most 20 somethings living in Oklahoma experience.

Searching for a tag line that could be excerpted for publicity purposes, I couldn't come up with one. Cross Canadian Ragweed is not "a brave new voice breaking through the clutter of country radio," although they are getting a little more airplay than I thought.

These guys have been a band for about 10 years and do nothing more than go out and play and hope people like them. Why denigrate that effort with a cutesy review line? The best thing I can do is say: This is a great album, and if you like guitars, stories, hope, a voice sharpened by years of playing in smokey honky-tonks, and a sound that goes good with a cold Budweiser (from the bottle of course) then buy this CD.

Special Thanks To Brandy Reed at RPR Media for getting me a review copy and Cindy Chaffin at Texas Gigs for putting me in touch with Brandy.