Music Review: Jeff Austin, The Simple Truth

By Melissa Bratcher

The Simple Truth, the debut album of Jeff Austin, former Yonder Mountain String Band mandolin king, is an engaging trip through Austin’s musical influences and passions: there’s straight bluegrass, soaring power pop, edgy noise experimentation, and some serious funk. The wonderful thing is every one of those songs works deliciously. There’s not a false moment or note on The Simple Truth. It’s an album made by someone who seems to be really enjoying his work, and it shows. (Or sounds. Hears?)

Jeff Austin has assembled an impressive band (going by the moniker The Jeff Austin Band) of like-minded musicians, and the chemistry on The Simple Truth is fizzy and electric. The opener, “What The Night Brings,” buzzes along, a power pop treat with a smart guitar solo. The song fairly shimmers in an anthemic college radio vein, buttressed by Austin’s interesting, appealing voice (I spent the entire album trying to figure out who his voice reminded me of. I came up with Marc Bolan, Sebastian Bach, and that guy from the Hooters. I still don’t know.) and mandolin that adds constant texture. The following track, “Simple Truth,” is loose-limbed and bluesy, with a touch of neo-ragtime. Baritone sax brays along, jaunty and honking.

The question “I’ve often wondered/what if I/ran to the edge and could fly?” is posed in the quiet “Scrapbook Pages.” That very line makes my heart shiver in the most pleasing way, and sung in Austin’s mellow tenor, it is glorious. The quiet songs on The Simple Truth are lovely. Nashville songwriter Sarah Siskind co-wrote and sings with Jeff Austin on the pretty and honest “Over and Over,” and their harmonies on the dreamy “Falling Stars” are gorgeous. Danny Barnes’s picked banjo bubbles underneath, making things quietly lively. It’s not a melancholy song, but reflective and tender. There’s so much to hear here.

Austin and his band turn up the funk full out on “Shake Me Up.” The back up singers exude soul and Eric Thorin’s nimble bass line is a highlight. The structure of the song is interesting, and didn’t do what I thought it might. Where my brain told me the song would swell to an upbeat chorus, instead the song pulls back, and the chorus is restrained. It works quite nicely.

I don’t know what it says about me that my favorite track was the skittery “Gatling Gun.” The atmosphere is creepy and disturbing, with scratchy noises and Southern Gothic flavor (it’s about Janie’s dad who “Ain’t afraid to get the killing done”). It’s edgy and dramatic, uptempo and effective. There’s nothing else like it on the grab bag of The Simple Truth.

Jeff Austin has made one fine debut album. There’s no one genre you can define it by, and each of the styles that he and his gifted band take on is done with such skill it’s a marvel. They sound equally as tight playing bluegrass as they do bringing the funk. And while Austin is an amazing mandolin player, he lets the other musicians take the spotlight instead, which seems very ego-free. It’s refreshing. So, too, is The Simple Truth: refreshing, moving, and one hell of a debut.

The Simple Truth was released through Yep Roc Records on February 10.

Tour Dates:
Fri. Feb. 13: CHICAGO, IL: Thalia Hall
Sat. Feb. 14: COLUMBUS, OH: Park Street Saloon
Sun. Feb. 15: LOUISVILLE, KY: The New Vintage
Wed. Feb. 18 BOWLING GREEN, KY The Warehouse at Mount Victor
Thu. Feb. 19: MEMPHIS, TN: Minglewood Hall
Fri. Feb. 20: FAYETTEVILLE, AR: George’s Majestic Lounge
Sat. Feb. 21: TULSA, OK: Tulsa Shrine
Sun. Feb. 22: AVON, CO: Winter Wonder Grass Festival
Wed. Mar. 4: BROOKLYN, NY: Brooklyn Bowl
Thu. Mar. 5: ARDMORE, PA: Ardmore Music Hall
Fri. Mar. 6: WASHINGTON D.C.: 9:30 Club
Sat. Mar. 7: CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA: Jefferson Theater
Sun. Mar. 8: CHARLESTON, WV: Mountain Stage – Culture Center Theater
Sat. Mar. 21: LIVE OAK, FL: Suwannee Springfest
Sun. Mar. 22: LIVE OAK, FL: Suwannee Springfest
Thu. Apr. 23: SALT LAKE CITY, UT: State Room
Fri. Apr. 24: CRYSTAL BAY, NV: Crystal Bay Club w/The T Sisters
Sat. Apr. 25: SAN FRANCISCO, CA: Great American Music Hall w/The T Sisters
Sun. Apr. 26: AUBURN, CA: Auburn Events Center
Wed. Apr. 29: EUGENE, OR: WOW Hall
Thu. Apr. 30: BEND, OR: Domino Room
Fri. May 1: PORTLAND, OR: Wonder Ballroom
Sat. May 2: SEATTLE, WA: Neptune Theater w/Fruitition
Sat. Apr. 18: DRIFTWOOD, TX: Old Settler’s Music Fest
Fri. May 22: THORNVILLE, OH: Dark Star Jubilee
Sat. May 23: CUMBERLAND, MD: DelFest
Sun. May 24: CUMBERLAND, MD: DelFest
Fri. June 12: EAU CLAIRE, WI: Blue Ox Festival
Sat. June 13: ONTARIO, CA: Huck Finn Jubilee
Fri. June 26: IDAHO SPRINGS, CO: Clear Creek Rapidgrass Music Festival
Sat. June 27: IDAHO SPRINGS, CO: Clear Creek Rapidgrass Music Festival
Thu. July 23: FLOYD, VA: Floydfest