It could be argued that
Charley Crockett is productive to a fault.
Welcome to Hard Times is his second album of 2020 and his third in less than a year, an output that can be excused as a reflection of his knowledge of the fleeting nature of life. Unlike its predecessor
The Valley,
Welcome to Hard Times wasn't written with the prospect of his own mortality looming over his head. By the time
The Valley hit the stores in September,
Crockett survived the surgeries correcting a congenital heart condition, which leaves
Welcome to Hard Times as the album he wrote in its wake. Death still rears its ugly head, but it's often in scenarios as picturesque as "Black Jack County Chain," a throwback to doomed cowboy songs that experienced a revival in the middle of the 20th century. The key to
Crockett's appeal is how he melds flinty storytelling with music so colorful, it feels cinematic.
Welcome to Hard Times, like its predecessors, easily swings between country, blues, swing, and folk; rock & roll is never heard but felt in the passion and grit of the performances. This easy eclecticism is
Crockett's calling card, also evident on his covers collection Field Recordings, Vol. 1, and it's burnished by a production that cannily recalls the echo-drenched LPs of the 1950s and early '60s without ever succumbing to nostalgic fetishism. To
Crockett, this sound is as timeless and telling as old folklore, which is why the retro vibe of
Welcome to Hard Times feels so vital: it's not a revival, it's part of the continuum of great American music.