Artist: Ryan Bingham
Album: American Love Song
Label: Axster-Bingham
Release Date: 2.15.2019
Ryan Bingham made a splash with a 2007 Academy and Grammy Award for the song, “The Weary Kind,” from the film Crazy Heart. In the interim he’s made four solid albums but has flown virtually under the radar. This strong set of a generous 15 songs on American Love Song may reverse that and catapult him to the top again. He’s put plenty behind him at this point; the death of his alcoholic mother and the loss of his dad to suicide, captured poignantly here in “Stones.” Understandably, it took him a while to regain his footing.
As you’ve likely surmised, Bingham had a rough upbringing. Born against the Texas Panhandle in bordering New Mexico, he grew up in the West Texas oil fields, and then spent time as a rodeo cowboy in towns across that vast state. As such, he was exposed to Cajun culture in East Texas, hardcore hip-hop by friends in Houston as well as Tex-Mex. Before moving to California in 2007, he had never lived in any one place for more than two years. He is now wearing his newfound maturity well, for all to see.
Personal and cultural influences mark this recording, co-produced by the renowned guitarist and producer, Charlie Sexton. Sexton plays guitars and keys, as does Bingham, who also adds harmonica and mandolin to the mix. They are supported by a hand-picked group of Austin musicians. The music ranges from classic Americana to some bluesy and rock n’ roll tracks, shifting from acoustic to electric along the way. The opening “Jingle and Go” has him reminiscing about his early days as an open-mic performer, working for tips like the great Texas bluesmen did. The acoustic “Beautiful and Kind” hearkens back to Texas bluesmen like Mance Lipscomb. “Got Damn Blues” is a filthy cut that may owe a bit to Lightning Hopkins. The closer, “Blues Lady” nods to Janis Joplin, Aretha and even his mom. Bingham has struggled, and he admires others who have shown resilience.
His wife, Anna, is the subject of the Stones-like “Pontiac,” as he cites the tale of their meeting and wild early years. “Lover Girl” is a paean to the tender side of their relationship with lines like “The scars upon my heart won’t hide, but now I found your sparklin’ eyes.” It’s a terrific tune. On the other hand, the standout, mandolin-driven “Wolves” deals with painful memories of his youth and the confrontations with school bullies. It’s also his response to the Parkland school shooting and the March for Our Lives student movement.
“Wolves” is not the only song rooted in social commentary. “Situation Station” has a deceptively languorous feel to it but is a direct blow to Trump with lines like “riding on the back of the poor man, selling them lies.” The ebullient “Blue” recants Bingham’s own battle with depression after the deaths of his parents, but is also a commentary on the taboo about seeking mental health care in this country. The personal meets the political in tunes like “Hot House,” about an imprisoned young man whose life has been cut short, and perhaps the most autobiographical one of all, “What Would I’ve Become.” It asks the kinds of questions we all ask ourselves at one time or another, in a soul-searching mode, in his case: What if the singer had stayed put, in one small town?
Bingham’s thoughts all point eventually to a call for unity as heard in the somber linchpin track “America.” The second verse decries gun violence, but his final verse is a plea for unity: “America, don’t you leave us here in the dark/Oh let our Lady light her torch/Out in the harbor of New York/And let her light make us as one.”
Bingham has delivered a thoughtful, comprehensive album that may well resonate as his best work to date. At the height of his success, this writer was less than overwhelmed by Bingham’s raspy voice, but somehow its weathered quality, in the context of this strong material, just works beautifully.
—Jim Hynes
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