Mike and the Moonpies - One To Grow On (2021)

Austin-based Mike & The Moonpies carry the torch for Texas country music, be it Doug Sahm’s cosmic country, the balladry of George Strait and Gary Stewart, the orchestral exploration of Cheap Silver & Solid Country Gold, or the straight-up honky-tonk of their new album One To Grow On. Featuring the band’s always tight playing and lyrical wizardry, the record kicks off with working-class rocker “Paycheck to Paycheck.”

One to Grow On hits all the classic material you’d expect in a good honky-tonk album: drinking songs, cheating songs, and songs about the hardships of life and work. Mike & The Moonpies understand what makes honky-tonk music work, maintaining a grounded connection to the real lives and hardships of people in their native Lone Star State and beyond. Everything on One to Grow On is something you may have seen before in a classic record, but it’s updated with a modern twist and a timeless arrangement.

In their prolific recording and frequent touring, Mike & The Moonpies have shown that the secret to what they do is in the execution. They don’t reinvent the wheel; they just build a better, faster, stronger wheel than anyone else. Putting out a record nearly every year, they’ve mastered the art of using the studio as an instrument; One to Grow On sounds tight and accomplished, while still avoiding being overproduced to the point that it looses the roughness that a good record of this type needs to be successful. With its classic honky-tonk, One to Grow On is also very early close to early rock & roll and rockabilly music, which will make it an appealing listen to fans beyond just the country audience. When a band does what Mike & The Moonpies have done so well, almost anyone will enjoy the results.