Blanche What This Town Needs [EP]

[V2; 2006]

Rating: 3.5/5

Styles: neo-traditional folk, alt. or indie country
Others: Johnny Cash, The Volebeats, The Jayhawks, The Byrds

What This Town Needs is something of a teaser EP for the highly anticipated follow-up to 2004’s full-length If We Can’t Trust The Doctors, being that the first two tracks here will also be on the forthcoming Little Amber Bottles. Judging from these songs -- one being this EP’s namesake and the other being a cover of The Rolling Stones' “Child Of The Moon”– the full-length seems like it might have more emphasis on roots rock than its predecessor (even factoring in Doctors’ bonus cover of Van Halen’s “Running With The Devil”). While nothing here would’ve been out of place on their debut, there is a certain mark of growth exhibited that rounds out the compositions. Little Jack Lawrence must be feeling a smidgen more confident, having played as part of Jack White’s The Raconteurs, while chief songwriter Dan Miller had a significant role in the award-winning Walk The Line. While that certainly adds some mojo to the band, it’s the Feeny-written “Scar Beneath The Skin” that’s the star of this trailer. Although Tracy Mae is a sweetheart, she doesn’t have the most dynamic voice. But Feeny’s track makes excellent use of her vocals, gracing them with a few layers of reverb and effects that imbue the sublime piece of country-folk with a tastefully ethereal quality. Toby Keith ain’t shit. This is the real country.

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