Wrapped

Album Review

On this album, Bruce Robison proves himself to be one of Austin's outstanding up-and-coming country songwriters. He seems equally comfortable writing about his youth in small-town Texas and mature adult relationships. In "My Brother and Me," Robison describes his Grandpa Charlie and sings, "Nobody like him in all my kin until my brother and me." The song movingly describes the adventures of four generations of the singer's family. The album's hands-down best song, however, is "Angry All the Time." Married with four kids, the singer realizes that he has to leave to find something that's been missing from his life. Robison's achingly beautiful lyrics are perfectly framed by an accordion and wife Kelly Willis' background vocals. Robison's style covers the whole range of country music. A mandolin and fiddle drive the bluegrassy "Don't You Ever Call My Name," while "Go to Your Heart" is electrified country-rock. Robison plays barroom swing on "12 Bar Blues" and ultra-traditional country on "When I Loved You," a Louvin Brothers song that he sings with Willis. But the focus always comes back to what makes this album great: Robison's songwriting. His lyrics are sometimes catchy and sometimes touching, but never heavy-handed, and even after the CD is over, they continue to captivate the listener's mind.