Album Review: The Merles 'Hate To Say Goodbye'

Recorded at Ramble Creek Studios in Austin, The Merles debut album, Hate To Say Goodbye brings the classic country sound of yesteryear to a new generation. Released on February 10th, the fourteen-track project puts forth tales of heartache, lost loves, and drinking in the stories of a man who hits rock bottom and does some terrible things – often more than once.

Front man Todd Deathrage and company - Loren Tarnow (vocals), Derek Tarnow (guitar), Matt Winegardner (drums) and Phil Spencer (bass) - kick things off with the shuffler “I Told You So” before turning to the title track which deals with the push and pull of the road and family, and current single “Room 242” which conveys the tale of a down and out man who now lives where he once loved. Meanwhile, The Merles juxtapose melody and  lyrics in the piano-centered “Six Pack of Heartache” which will have you ready to two-step as he drowns his sorrows, the jaunty “Alcohol and Issues,” which documents his relationship with bottle, and the sorrowful “My Payback." The album is rounded out with “If the Walls Could Talk” where a victim of love recalls being fooled, and the rockabilly “What the Hell I Did Last Night” before closing with the up-tempo, yet firmly (and sadly) decisive, “She's Leaving Me.”

Basil McJagger (The Derailers), Geoff Queen (Hayes Carll), Eddie Dickerson (Curtis Grimes), and Michael St. Clair (Polyphonic Spree) all lend their talents to the project, complimenting the five-piece’s sound centered on male-female harmonies, pedal steel, and brush drum that put forth that traditional country and rockabilly sound making for an enjoyable listen start to finish.

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