Things That Used to Shine

The Nashville singing-songwriting duo of Doug and Telisha Williams and percussionist Jake Winebrenner establish themselves as serious players on the alt-country scene with a debut album filled with emotionally resonant tunes. It's all perfectly produced by five-time GRAMMY winner Ray Kennedy (Steve Earle, Lucinda Williams, Emmylou Harris), who adds keyboards on several tracks. Russ Pahl’s pedal steel, banjo, and electric guitar and Casey Driessen’s fiddle further color the songs. But the heart of the album is locked deep in Telisha’s personal experience, largely a recognition of her years of abuse. Songs such as “Want to Be Gone,” “The Truth Is,” “Revival Wasteland," and the title track combine all the finest elements of the acoustic-electric approach. But this doesn't mean the album is a dour affair. Tunes such as “Broken” rock with a nasty country twang reminiscent of early Son Volt, when those boys sounded like they were heading out to the highway.