Westbound is a two person band from Texas, that has found a niche in a mix of americana, southern rock, root rock and a hint of blues. I was a little skeptical when I first saw that there were only just two members in the band, but when you listen to their music you can not tell a difference. This made a refreshing sound when compared to other artist in similar genres. I am a fan of country music and would like to see more and more artist go back to their roots as these two did and remake a sound that everyone loves.

The first song I had the opportunity to listen to was “Whiskey Chasin’ Fever” and really enjoyed it from the get go. This is an up beat song of, yes you guessed it, whiskey and the effects that may happen after it’s consumed. When the song first started playing, I couldn’t help myself from tapping along. It was just one of those songs that when you first hear it you can get into from the start. While the song was playing I was following along with the lyrics. About half way through the song I realized that I was actually singing along, oppose to just reading. All and all, this was a good start to the album and I understood what kind of sound they had.

There have been several references to life as a poker game. Making choices and risking everything on an unknown outcome is almost a day to day reality. With Westbound we have their song, “Devil Make Your Move” and it has an unique twist. When I was listening to this song, I was litteraly picturing a poker game at the infamous cross roads with an unknown figure (a representative of everything wrong in the person’s life). Musically this was another very catchy tune and very easy to get into. Lyrically, I like the elusion of  actually playing against an entity, compared to life in general. This brings a certain substance to the song by putting a figure as the antagonist.

Probably one of the most interesting songs on this album has to be “Makin’ Time”. When I first heard this song my first thought was the guitar was too over done. But after listening to it a couple of times, it seemed everything came together and it meshed with the vocal styling well. This song was odd to me, in a good way that is. Picture George Thorogood with an acoustic guitar and a female voice, that’s what I was thinking the whole time I was listening to this song. This song really put the acoustic rock genre, if you may, into prospective for me.

I can’t really say I recommend this album and band to everyone, just because their sound seems to appeal to a cetain type of person. I could be wrong for saying that, but in the same breathe they have gotten a new fan in me. Growing up I listen to country music and oldies rock ‘n roll and hear references to both of these genres in Westbound’s music. The songs that I chose to include in this article are some of my favorites on the album. I honestly enjoyed every song on their album “Blackjack Road” and if you have interests in any of these genres, then I would recommend you give Westbound a go and see what you think.

Jbab
Project Backstage