EP

Based on its length (just under half an hour), Will Kimbrough's self-titled offering in 2007 is either a really short album or a very long EP. It is billed as the latter, and given how much session work Kimbrough does as a guitarist for country artists, it's entirely possible he didn't have time to put together more than these eight songs. They are enough, however, to whet the appetite of any curious listener and leave any serious fan salivating for more. Though the term "Americana" is the kiss of death for most artists these days (because it would appear to be a catchall that doesn't fit anywhere else), Kimbrough's music comes right from the heart of traditional American song forms: Appalachian balladry, raw bluegrass, hillbilly blues, rock & roll, and folk songs. The contrast between the guitars and cello of the bluesy back-porch "Eden Prairie" and the sheer folk waltz of "Interstate," with guitar, mandolin, brushed drums, and upright bass, are two cases in point. "Horseshoe Lake" may be played on acoustic guitars, mandos, upright bass, and cello, but it walks through the same kind of singer/songwriter rock Bruce Springsteen delved into on Tunnel of Love — without the slick production. "Yellow Mama" is a shimmering primitive ballad with beautiful slide guitar and banjo work. It's a prayer, a protest song, and a criminal ballad, all rolled into one. "Half a Man," a midtempo shuffling acoustic ballad with a full band, sounds utterly lush in comparison to its predecessors. The closer, "Love Is the Solution," with its lonesome strings and spoken word lyric, is a blues from a different era. Its message is profound, spelled out in simple terms that could have been written by Tom Russell, and shows his influence. It's hard to tell where a recording like this one might drop — and hopefully not into obscurity. These are wonderfully written and executed songs: sparse yet full of literacy, emotion, and a primitive's attitude to modern invention, though there is nothing remotely primitive about the sound or craft on this short set. That all said, Will Kimbrough's EP is well worth seeking out; while its forms may be familiar, there isn't anything remotely like it out there.