Sonic Ranch is a studio out in El Paso, Texas, a place where
Midland hunkered down for a spell in 2014 as they tried to find their voice as a band. Come 2021, the group decided to release documentation of these early sessions as
The Sonic Ranch, a relatively brief film accompanied by an album of the same name.
Midland's subsequent success creates some interest in
The Sonic Ranch in perspective, as it's possible to hear hints of the neon-lit barroom country the trio essayed on 2017's
On the Rocks and 2019's
Let It Roll. As its own entity, though, it's a bit threadbare, the sound of a trio figuring out their strengths and weaknesses. The retro sheen of producers
Shane McAnally,
Josh Osborne, and
Dann Huff is missed -- part of the charm of
Midland is their vintage vibe -- as are the sharply articulated melodies. Without these elements of the equation,
Midland sound pleasant enough as they amble through memories of Texas troubadours past, yet the lack of defined songs and persona means that
The Sonic Ranch just kinds of drifts past like a tumbleweed on the breeze. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine