Album Review: Cale Tyson, High On Lonesome

Cale Tyson’s new seven-song EP High On Lonesome sounds like it was made before his parents were born. Contrary to his throwback sound, Cale Tyson is actually a twenty-something songwriter out of Ft. Worth, Texas who moved to Nashville to pursue music in the vein of George Jones and Jimmie Rodgers. Much like Gram Parsons, Tyson has revived the ghost of country western music made before the advent of stereo recordings.

High On Lonesome boasts enough mournful pedal steel and twangy guitar to satisfy any classic country fan. But Tyson is a far cry (or yodel, if you will) from what you’ll hear on country stations these days. High On Lonesome is old-fashioned country coming from a new voice, and it is as refreshing as a drink of lemonade on a hot day. No one is making music like this anymore.

Stepping back into the fossilized world of country/western is a bold, brave move because there is no established niche for this kind of music right now. Cale Tyson’s last EP hedged between country and the singer-songwriter stuff that comes a dime a dozen in Nashville, making it pretty generic aside from an inclination to lyricism. But on his new EP, Tyson has plunged into his Texan roots with songs reminiscent of what you’d have heard in the 1950s coming from an old jukebox in a rundown bar somewhere in the eternal flatlands of west Texas. Nashville hasn’t put out this kind of music decades.

That being said, Tyson is not breaking new ground here, just returning to the good old stuff. The song structure is pretty simple, and all of the songs are about losing a girl, breaking up with a girl, or missing a girl. Whoever that girl is, she’s either feeling pretty bad about causing so much pain or maybe feeling like she deserves a royalties check for her contribution.

Though simple, the songwriting isn’t passé or uncreative. On the contrary, Tyson effortlessly works in heartbreaking lyrics like, “And I miss you when you I kiss you” on the song “Is the Flame Burning Low?” With its vivid lyrics and booming drums, “Long Gone Girl” is the song that least fits the traditional country mold. Even David Allan Coe wouldn’t have sung, “But when I return she’s too coked out to see.” With this, Tyson reminds us that the album was, in fact, written in the 21^st century.

You can still pretend it’s 1950 when you listen to it though. This EP would sound fantastic on vinyl. I suspect he will also release vinyl copies of his full-length album, which is due out some time in October. Play this EP in the meantime on warm summer nights steeped in whiskey, especially if you’re experiencing your own heartbreak.

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Caroline McDonald

My first memory is of singing Dolly Parton’s “I Will Always Love You” quietly to myself during preschool naptime. Perhaps it’s because I’m from Nashville where an instrument lives in every home, but music has gripped me for as long as I can remember.

After dabbling in many parts of the music industry—recording studios, PR, management, labels, publishing—I’m expanding into music journalism because I’m yet to find anything more rewarding that finding and sharing new music.

A longtime sucker for girls with guitars, my musical taste unabashedly follows the songwriting lineage of Dolly Parton and includes Patty Griffin, Gillian Welch, and Neko Case. But not to pigeonhole myself, my music love is big love that stretches from R.L. Burnside to Animal Collective to Lord Huron.

I’ve recently moved home to Nashville after living in Boston and Big Sur for several years. I’d forgotten how music pours onto the streets ten hours a day, seven days a week. I’m honored to share the creative explosion happening here. If your band is in the area or of the area, please reach out!