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The Dust Devils (formerly the Cosmic Dust Devils,
now acquiescing to the common shortening of their name) may just be the
best thing going in Texas’ progressive country music arena today.
Alt-country, progressive country, whatever you want to call it, this brand
of music remains vibrant even as the indie flavor-of-the-month indicators
sweep across the dial to the Modest Mouses of the world. And
nobody’s writing it any better than Kevin Higgins, or singing it with more
lights-out ferocity and passion than Barbara Malteze. Their latest
release, Gathering Dust, underscores the point. It’s all over
the map in terms of sound and content, more a patchwork quilt than a
focused theme, but man oh man, what a quilt it is.
Things start quickly here with the opening track, “Southern Tears,” the
latest entry in Higgins’ expanding look at the historical perspectives and
truths that drove a nation to divide, fight, and ultimately reunite as one
back in the 1860’s. The nuance of the lyrics and compelling sound of the
music recall the Backsliders, particularly their Southern Lines period.
In typical Higgins fashion, there’s a topical story overlaid with
metaphorical analysis - - you’ve got to listen to get it. Because
while the heroine’s love dies fighting back tears on a Civil War
battlefield, the song’s central question about just how much this is all
worth fighting for evokes questions that remain painfully relevant today.
Outside of maybe Patterson Hood, it’s tough to come up with a songwriter
who’s got a better finger on the pulse of the whole Southern thing these
days.
Other cuts delve deeply into relationships and how they work (or
ultimately how they don’t), and why. “Tired,” for instance, is stark
in its brutality, but as honest and real an examination of what goes wrong
between a woman and a man as I can recall hearing. No radio fluff
here, just the cold, calloused, caring truth:
"She keeps skipping over cold hard facts
Like a needle skipping over dust
A broken record on a phonograph
When a groove becomes a rut
I know, I know, I know she’ll deny it
I know, ‘cause I’ve played that song
But, I just can’t listen to it anymore
‘Cause she thinks there’s nothing wrong"
Strange how two people will stay together when
it’s tearing them apart, and true that when they do the exhaustion is
overwhelming.
“Company Time,” on the other hand, uses a snapshot of tough economic times
that evokes a hardscrabble life during the Industrial Revolution to make a
searing point about the need to plow your own field in an age where our
biggest corporations are figuring out ways to freeze or dissolve pension
plans.
The ride goes on from here – another relationship implodes in the stanzas
of “In Jail,” but this time people die. “Railroaded” breaks a heart
but points the way to freedom, while “Gathering Dust” details the
calculated decisions that can make a relationship last:
"There’s a girl in the corner
She’s been waitin’ all night
For some road-weary gypsy
To take her home for a while
I ain’t got it in me
All I got’s this guitar
Yeah I’ll keep breakin’ strings
But I’ve long since quit breaking hearts
So I’ll stick to my guns and keep riding
Got my sights set on the one that I love
And I’ll go where the music will take me
All the while gatherin’ dust"
The next several tracks, labeled “Side B” on the
CD cover, move away from Higgins’ gravelly, soothing, insightful vocals
and shine the spotlight directly on Malteze’s formidable pipes. This girl
can wail. Whether it’s the gospel-tinged “Friends” with its delineation of
the differences that make human relations worthwhile or the visceral and
proud “Outlaw Girl” and its sense of pride wrapped around defeat driven to
succeed against the odds, the delivery Barbara unleashes packs a wallop.
And then there’s “Angel Wings,” an anthemic aural buffet that showcases
both the power and the subtle beauty of Malteze’s voice as its wraps
itself around the lyrics and becomes a plea to the universe for something,
anything, of substance:
"Hoping to find a deeper meaning to this
emptiness I know
Standing on the edge I wonder…
Just what it is I’m looking for?
Truth is cast in shadows
I pray to God there must be something more
I need wisdom and belief
A little less war and a lot more peace
A little bit of kindness
If you’re the kind who can keep it real"
The disc wraps up with a spoken-word offering
from Higgins, framed against the sort of slow and thoughtful six-string
backdrop that Townes was famous for. And like Townes, Higgins has figured
out a thing or two about this life deal. The whole record’s worth
your money for this cut alone.
These Dust Devils are something special. Sweeping arrangements and
powerful vocals delivering lyrics intended to cut to the bone - - and they
succeed consistently. Music Row is beginning to take notice,
finally. Maybe they’re figuring out there’s more to this Texas music
thing than Pat Green’s feel-good softballs and Kevin Fowler’s sophomoric
drinking tunes. Kevin Higgins knows his way around songwriting,
maybe because he’s figured out his way around the soul. And with
Barbara beside him, he can’t lose. Those two together, as the Dust
Devils, have the power to change the way you think and feel about music -
- and if you listen close enough, the way you understand yourself.
Find out more at
www.cosmicdustdevils.com. Today.
Written by Dave
Pilot, January, 2006
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