In 2015, Josh Abbott Band released Front Row Seat, a vulnerable album that revealed the rose-colored glasses start and heart-breaking end of Abbott’s relationship with his now ex-wife. Set up like a play, the story broke out over five separate acts, allowing the listener to follow along the timeline as Abbott had gone through himself, and also providing the listener a way to heal for his/her own pains of the heart. (Read our review here). Fast forward two years later, JAB is set to release another storytelling gem with Until My Voice Goes Out, their fifth album, available today (8/18) via Pretty Damn Tough Records.
In stark contrast to the dark emotional cloud of Front Row Seat, Until My Voice Goes Out oozes with hope. “This album is about appreciating the moment and your family and your friends, and living life the right way,” Abbott said in a press release. “It’s really all about finding clarity and focusing on what’s important.” These words could not ring more true as during the process of creating this album, Abbott found out that he and his now fiancée Taylor Parnell were expecting (the two welcomed their baby daughter in May), and his father suffering a stroke in February, passing away a few weeks later.
However, Until My Voice Goes Out is similar to Front Row Seat when it comes to the structure of the set-list. While not broken out in acts, two instrumental preludes and one epilogue mark specific moments within the set-list. The album begins with the lighthearted prelude titled “An Appreciation of Life,” 49-seconds of beautiful classical strings that flow right into the title track “Until My Voice Goes Out” – a song about living in the moment, wishing the best for those who mean the most, and not taking even the smallest things for granted. (Abbott was able to play this song for his father before he passed):
I want to sing my songs until my voice goes out
I want to take every day and live it loud
Friends who were friends through the lows and the highs
I want them all to live long and healthy lives
I want to write more stories than can ever be told
I want a silver lining and a pot of gold
A second chance when I make mistakes
And to give way more than I ever take
Something new to the sound of JAB is an amazing horn section, arranged by Rob Mathes. Heard throughout the album, the brass is first introduced in the fun up-tempo “Heartbeatin’.” The catchy song mixes the horns wonderfully with the quick pace banjo picking of the band’s Austin Davis, while Abbott gushes his feelings of love through endearing lyrics:
You got my heart beatin’ baby, beatin’ me to death
Like a nine pound hammer, an earthquake in my chest
Lit up my soul like that old rock n roll
You got my heart beatin’ baby, beatin’ me to death
With the loss of his father, Abbott decided to add a song that was proposed to him a few months earlier by Rodney Clawson and Jaren Johnston, as detailed in an interview with Rolling Stone. Keeping with the timeline of the set-list, “Ain’t My Daddy’s Town” became the final song on the album followed only by the melancholy epilogue “Farewell Father.” With such poignant lyrics, acoustic guitar, beautiful strings and at times a quivering voice, it is a wonderful personal tribute to Abbott’s late father:
Gonna have to scoot the seat up in that old red Ford work truck
Take my mom out on a date, make sure her bills aren’t paid late
Cut the turkey at Christmas, trying not to tear up
Be tough as nails, strong as oak, just like him I hope
‘Cause this ain’t my daddy’s town no more
Somebody’s gotta fill those boots he wore
I ain’t saying I’m the man he was, but it’s my turn to carry on what he loved
This ain’t my daddy’s town no more
Until My Voice Goes Out is well balanced with standard JAB songs “Whiskey, Tango Foxtrot” and “The Night Is Ours,” sentimental tracks such as “I’m Your Only Flaw,” and “Girl Down In Texas,” and of course the band’s home state “Texas Women, Tennessee Whiskey.”
For some bands, releasing a successful album after one like Front Row Seat could be difficult, but not for JAB. Until My Voice Goes Out is the perfect follow-up. The lyrics are again wonderfully written, the talent of the band is only enhanced with the brilliant use of horns and strings, and while there is still melancholy, it is nice to know the feelings of love and hope on the album reflect Abbott’s life now.
For more information on Josh Abbott Band, visit their website at www.joshabbottband.com and follow them on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
Until My Voice Goes Out Track Listing:
1. “Prelude: An Appreciation of Life”
2. “Until My Voice Goes Out”
3. “Heartbeatin’”
4. “Texas Women, Tennessee Whiskey”
5. “I’m Your Only Flaw”
6. “Prelude: Hope & Hesitance”
7. “Girl Down in Texas”
8. “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot”
9. “Kinda Missing You”
10. “Heartbeat and a Melody”
11. “The Night Is Ours”
12. “Dance With You All Night Long”
13. “Ain’t My Daddy’s Town”
14. “Epilogue: Farewell Father”