Album Review: Cody Jinks 'I'm Not The Devil'

Raised on country, but detouring to a stint on the heavier side of things as frontman for metal band Unchecked Aggression, Cody Jinks became a name on many’s radar in 2014 with his well-received Adobe Sessions. His fifth, and highly anticipated, release I’m Not The Devil bowed on August 12th - coincidentally the same day as fellow traditionalist Kelsey Waldon’s stellar I’ve Got A Way – providing a much-needed shot of classic country for the music-loving soul.

I’m Not The Devil begins with “The Same” a frank telling of a meeting with an old lover after an extended period of time that is permeated with an underlying feeling of yearning, “If you came here to see if time had rearranged this ain’t no game I’m still the same.” Throughout the album, Jinks is unquestionably straightforward, whether it’s in the title track, which with soul-bearing honesty, he sings of mistakes made and the desire to be forgiven, “It ain’t no excuse, but I’m just a man/I slipped and I fell, it got out of hand/I’m not the devil you think that I am”, the realistic and moving “No Words,” an ode to his wife or the dark “Heavy Load” whose weighty lyrics are balanced by beautiful fiddle.

Jinks reflects, with the wisdom that comes with age, on the passage of time in “No Guarantees,” “The more I know the more I know that I don’t know/I know nothings free, there ain’t no guarantees,” stresses the importance of caring for your fellow man in “Give All You Can,” “I’ve been down and not had a dollar to my name but there’s angels there that got me through and I can do the same,” and touches a nerve in the somber and thoughtful “Grey,” “Living ain’t a promise, living ain’t a right and no one here is getting out alive, so pick up all your pieces, cast the doubt away rediscover the color in the grey.”

The thirteen track collection is rounded out with Merle Haggard’s “The Way I Am” and Billy Don Burns’ nostalgic “Church at Gaylor Creek” - both of which fit perfectly within the overall themes of the album - before closing with “Vampires” and “Hand Me Down.” The former contemplates time and the death of dreams while the latter angrily (and with a sense of foreboding) comments on his dissatisfaction with the world today, pondering what we’re “handing down” to future generations.

I’m Not The Devil is an honest and introspective set of songs that establish Jinks as a man who isn’t afraid to evaluate who he is and how, why and who helped make him that way. He possesses a sense, not only of self, but of the world around him and isn’t afraid to let us in with songs that are forthright, meaningful…and some of the finest of the year.

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