Alt-country album lacks flavor, musical variety

The Myrtles

Nowhere to be Found

C-Student Records

Since…

The Myrtles

Nowhere to be Found

C-Student Records

Since the mid-’90s, a newfound genre that runs a fine line between acoustic rock and country has been established: alt-country. The genre includes the likes of Lucinda Williams and Ryan Adams. The latest band riding on the wave of the genre, the Myrtles, has the perfect combination of violins and whining love songs that’s just twang and indie enough to be considered alt-country on their debut album Nowhere to be Found.

Formed in Baton Rouge, LA, The Myrtles keep the pace with this record. Gabe Daigle, lead vocalist, decided to stray from his garage-punk roots and take a stab at a country album. Buzz from all over college radio has caused The Myrtles to have a small fan base, some critical acclaim and top-ten positions on download charts on sites like Amazon.com.

The opener, “Devil in a Bottle,” is one of the most upbeat songs on the album, despite complaints about a girl and her conniving, heart-stealing ways. “There’s a devil in a bottle/that drowns the angel inside of you/and all my love is drowning too.”

“Pale Blue Eyes” is a whiskey-soaked, mopey song about lost love. “I can’t forget when we first met/pale blue eyes/and I can’t forget the day that you left/leaving it all behind.” The classic country spirit is caught with the line, “See, I promised her I would never part/ but my spirit left me drunk at the bar.” With lines like that, The Myrtles maintain a friendly reminder that it is a country album.

A standout on the album is the use of the violin echoing in the background of almost every track on this album. Classically trained Talice Lee doesn’t just have the fiddle-like sound on which most country music relies, but a smooth and soulful touch that carries each song to the limits of its potential.

This album is monotonous throughout, though, and doesn’t have a lot of variety to the sound. The songs seem to run together, as if each is a continuation from the next one. The lyrics are also the same, all about heartache and drinking, and the pattern only continues. There’s a good attempt to stray from popular country, but not enough flavor to keep me interested.