Dwight Yoakam recalibrated his career with 2012's
3 Pears, returning to his former home of Warner and reconnecting to the nerviness of his first albums. With
Second Hand Heart,
Yoakam continues this unfussy revival, sharpening his attack so the record breezes by at a crisp, crackling clip. Once again, he's reviving himself through reconnecting the past but what gives
Second Hand Heart life is specificity, both in its songs and sound. The former is what makes the greatest initial impression, as it seems as if he's synthesized all the big Capitol Records acts of 1966 into one bright, ringing sound. To be sure, there's a fair amount of Bakersfield here, especially apparent on the loping drawl of "Off Your Mind" and the crackerjack rockabilly of "The Big Time," but
the Beatles loom even larger than
Buck Owens, surfacing in the chiming 12-strings of "Believe" and harmonies of "She" and evident in the general spirit of adventure that fuels
Second Hand Heart. Some of
Dwight's tricks are familiar -- the jet propulsion of "Man of Constant Sorrow" borrows a page from the glory days of cowpunk -- but his execution is precise and he never lets the record settle in one groove for too long, not even when he tears through "Sorrow," "Liar," and "The Big Time" at a breakneck pace. Such sequencing gives
Second Hand Heart momentum but what lasts are the songs, a collection of ten tunes -- all originals save the standard "Sorrow" and the sweet denouement "V's of Birds" -- that are sturdy yet sly, their hooks sinking into the subconscious without ever drawing attention to themselves. All this means is that
Second Hand Heart is prime
Dwight Yoakam: traditional yet modern, flashy yet modest, a record that feels fresh but also like a forgotten classic. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine