Artist: Henry Wagons
Album: After What I Did Last Night
Label: Metropolitan Groove Merchants
Release Date: 02/16/2016
Henry Wagons may hail from the “Land Down Under,” but his sound is definitely over the top. A country crooner through and through, he possesses a deep growl and consistent rumble that sounds perfectly suited to late night barrooms or your average neighborhood honkytonk.
Formerly at the helm of the little known but much hailed Aussie band Wagons, he’s now firmly engaged in his solo career, with After What I Did Last Night following on the heels of his excellent solo debut, the EP called Expecting Company. Recorded in Nashville, the new album soaks up the influences of famous forebears like Johnny Cash and Waylon Jennings, with just the right combination of rough-shod remorse and dark defiance instilled in the mix.
To be sure, Wagons does possess a knack for planting tongue firmly in cheek, as the supposedly self-pitying “Cold Burger, Cold Fries” and unlikely travelogue “Cowboy in Krakow” make it all too clear. When he amps up the volume and cranks up the attitude on a song such as “Only Sane Mother *****,” it’s also clear he’s one to be reckoned with.
After What I Did Last Night is as revealing as its title implies, and in that regard it’s also as reckless as it is whimsical. A better combination would be hard to come by.
– Lee Zimmerman
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