Let The Lead Fly is one of those albums that deserves to be on our Best Albums of 2009 list, but we grabbed it a bit too late. While the Wrinkle Neck Mules seem to go to a more a traditional country sound, this album is far from uninspired or unoriginal. As long as Andy Stepanian and Chase Heard are leading the charge, we needn’t worry about the quality of work from this underrated bande. In an interview on American Songwriter, Heard had this to say:
Let the Lead Fly was created in the same vein as our previous record The Wicks Have Met, but it skews towards the rootsier end of the Mules spectrum.
The band continues to remind me of Drive-By Truckers, although their sounds are quite different. Both fall into alt-country territory, but DBT is more rock and WNM is more country. The similarities lie in songwriting that paints a vivid picture and allows a scene to play out right in front of you. Stepanian and Heard rival Hood and Cooley in the storytelling category, especially on songs like “Catfish and Color TVs” and “Howard Johnson.”
From the opening salvo, “Don’t just stand there. Raise your gun and let the lead fly,” you get a 47 minute statement of everything that is good about country music. Don’t sleep on these guys. They are the cream of the alt-country crop.
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Couldn’t agree more, great album and one of my favourites of 2009.
Cheers, Simon