Hayes Carll

The Texas music scene, for all its grounding in outlaw-country traditions, has become a big tent in recent years, and one of its most consistently entertaining acts is Hayes Carll. Though a regular on the touring circuit, Carll had been dispiritingly quiet on the new music front since releasing his breakout 2008 LP, Trouble In Mind—though that last part changed with 2011’s KMAG YOYO. That lifted military acronym (“Kiss my ass, guys—you’re on your own”) makes a decent introduction to the record’s sense of humor, a wry outlook that matches the “Subterranean Homesick Blues” redux of the title track, as well the honky-tonkin’ weeper “Hard Out Here.”

Updated 06/18/2012