Want to know why “Comal County Blue” is the fastest growing single in 2008 from an independent label according to the editor of the Texas Music Chart, Katie Key? Simple, because it rocks.

Actually, all of Jason Boland and the Stragglers’ album, Comal County Blue is really good. Now, there’s two kinds of country: Country that is crossover like Carrie Underwood and people who hate country secretly like this stuff. Then there’s hard core country. Jason Boland and the Stragglers are a hard core country band, and they are pretty darn excellent.

Boland and company start off with “Sons and Daughters of Dixie.” It’s a great tune where he honors those who went through Hurricane Katrina. He sings about their struggles and makes it known that everyone who went through the national emergency can survive and rebuild. Boland shows off his beautiful voice and the lyrics are beautiful as well. I just love songs that talk about something real as oppose to the usual ‘he loves me’ stuff.

“Comal County Blue” is an extremely gentle piece. The song is beautiful; I just close my eyes and I’m in a better place. Very soothing and relaxing. It’s a nice break from the heavy metal bands that play everywhere. It’s a retreat from the world and it make me happy. I get happier every time I listen to it. 

“Bottle On My Bed” is where Jason opens up about his alcohol problem. He’s been sober for four years. The song is very simple, which is why I like it so much. The song really gets the listener close to Jason; it definitely leads to a deep relationship with Jason, which is an important task an artist must always achieve.

The album is good for all of the hard core country fans out there. Other tracks include: “Down Here on Earth,” “Something You Don’t See Everyday,” “The Party’s Not Over,” “If It Were Up To Me,” “May Not Be Love,” “No Reason Being Late,” “Alright,” “God is Mad at Me,” and “Outlaw Band.” The album — which comes out August 26th — is definitely worth buying if you are big on country music.