Roots

The latest CD release reviewed

RYAN BINGHAM
Mescalite Lost Highway Records ****

Ryan Bingham is only 25, but his remarkable lived-in voice testifies to someone much older - and his dusty desert roots/rock debut album does likewise. Apparently Bingham's been on the road a long time, following the rodeo around the Texas-Mexico border. This rootlessness is the skin of his music, and he wears it with a weary acceptance, but the music's heart is something wilder, something that kicks out at every opportunity.

Like his namesake Ryan Adams, with whom he shares many similarities, Bingham has issues, more than enough to comfortably cover this debut. He also has serious talent, a fact underlined by the unselfconscious way he speaks from the "cellar of his heart". Along with his band, the compact Living Dead Horses, Bingham puts down a serious marker for future recognition with a display of bravura, balance and intelligence. www.binghammusic.com

Download tracks: Southside of Heaven, Bread and Water, For What It's Worth