It's hard not to read the title of
Close to Home as an admission of the album's contents.
Chuck Mead does indeed stick to his Tennessee roots here, which may not be a surprise considering that the former leader of
BR5-49 spent much of the 2010s directing the music on the Million Dollar Quartet musical and supervising the soundtrack for the CMT show Sun Records, and
Close to Home does indeed bear a big rockabilly heart. Recorded with producer
Matt Ross-Spang, who's helmed records by
John Prine,
Jason Isbell, and
Margo Price, at Sam Phillips Recording Studios,
Close to Home boasts a style that evokes old sounds and styles without doggedly replicating the past. It's an appealing combination.
Mead's songs roll easy, nearly as easy as his delivery, and that casual touch helps sell his jokes ("Better Than I Was [When I Wasn't So Good]," "Daddy Worked the Pole") while also grounding his grittier material ("Close to Home," "The Man Who Shook the World").
Close to Home often swings with the abandon of a late-night local honky tonk, but
Mead wisely takes the time to offer both swampy grooves ("Shake") and sweet moments of heartache ("There's Love Where I Come From"), elements that give the record depth and dimension.
Mead delivers each of these songs with understated soul and that's what gives
Close to Home its comforting spirit: it feels as cozy and nourishing as home itself. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine