Reviewed by Ian Phillips.
By Travis Collins, ABC Music 2020.
Homegrown country performer Travis Collins has produced a great new album which has come two years after his well-received last release, Brave & The Broken.
The opening song and title track, Wreck Me, is an absolute cracker and sets the tone for the disc.
The recording approach for this project was a departure from his previous effort by trying to recreate, as far as possible, the band’s live sound.
This explains the vitality that is particularly evident in this release.
The decision to use his touring band as the musicians for Wreck Me was a wise decision.
Far too often performers go with the ‘studio’ band in preference to their regular outfit, especially when they land in Nashville, and in doing so lose some hard won vitality and synchronicity.
Collins notes that the recording process was “about taking people that I work with all the time and trying to get into those good vibes and organic layers.”
Many country rock albums that I’ve listened to recently have had a generic sound, ‘the Nashville sound’.
It has become ubiquitous, however, this album has only traces of it which makes the album more interesting and somewhat unique.
There are three tracks that reunite Collins with Nashville ‘super producer’ Luke Wooten however these tracks don’t completely dominate the album sound.
The final track on the disc is an interesting take on the Eagles classic hit Desperado which is the only non-original track.
Travis Collins is noted for his dynamic stage shows and this album lends itself to live performance.
The songs are catchy and up-tempo with a layering of great tight rock played by a band that has developed good performance chemistry.
If country rock is your thing then I recommend this album, it’s one of the best I’ve listened to this year.
