Not a cent to waste, no rock unturned

Robbie Fulks is back, this time on new label Yep Roc after a few albums on the great Chicago label Bloodshot.

Fulks is country through and through, with none of that pansy-ass "alt" shit - this is actually country; boot-stomping, grit-eating country. And while I'm a Yankee through and through, it's easy to tell from Fulks' new record Georgia Hard that Robbie is neither "alt" like Ryan Adams nor "pop" like Garth Brooks, but plain old country.

Fulks has all kinds of chops, but chief among them is his songwriting chops. He actually tried out Nashville, didn't like it (see "Fuck This Town", from his album South Mouth), and released a string of albums full of straight-up country songs by him and mostly unheard-of hillbilly giants.
There was also his one-album stint on Geffen in 1998 that resulted in Let's Kill Saturday Night, a rock CD that was more rock than country, and ultimately a curious experiment with a great title track.

Anyway, Georgia Hard comes out on May 17, and thanks to our friends at Yep Roc, we can offer you the first track:

Robbie Fulks - Where There's a Road

The album is very good, and typical Fulks - there are barnburners like this track, a few quiet ballads, and a handful of songs showing off Fulks' sense of humor (on the track "Countrier Than Thou", Fulks lambasts country fans who snobbily eschew anything modern, refuse to hear the word "Shania" but probably use the word "eschew").

Pre-order Georgia Hard here, and do yourself a favor and pick up some of his other records, like the great Country Love Songs.