Nothing validates a honky-tonk band like a packed dance floor, and Austin’s Texas Sapphires absolutely nail the dance-floor thing on sophomore release As He Wanders. Once again the Sapphires deal an Arty Hill song off the bottom of the deck to kick things off in stone-cold honky-tonk style with “Nashville Moon.” From there it’s all Billy Brent Malkmus’s songs, and the former East Coast punk rocker sends a strong signal that he’s one of the best of the new crop of honky-tonk writers. “Stunt Double” is the kind of play on words that Buck Owens often employed, and “How Did I Get So Sloppy Drunk When I Was Drinkin’ Neat?” makes a fine drinking song, something that has become a bit of a lost art in country music. Rebecca Cannon’s Emmylou-ish twang balances perfectly with Malkmus, and when she takes the lead on mellow weepers like “Teardrops or Rain,” we get a reminder of how far the country mainstream has strayed from country music. It’s hard to imagine people this young playing music that sounds this old, but there’s not a false dance step on As He Wanders.
This article appears in Feb 18-24, 2010.