The Nashville country music industry has whisked right along with the times and has found a formula that sticks on mainstream radio and has run with it. However if you take a walk down lower Broadway on any given day or night it is a sure bet that you will hear a honky-tonk brand of country coming from the many bars and honky-tonks that line the street. Tyler Reeve is one of those honky-tonk styled artists that have found a way to bring together a taste of the modern sound but never abandon's the sounds of the past in doing so as he offers on his latest release Whiskey Down. He sets the tone for the album and quickly introduces you to who he is the moment you hit play and are met with the album opener "Good Music." The southern rock tinged styled song talks about the songs that influenced him like "Midnight Rider" and "Cooperhead Road" and allows you to hear the rich voice that Reeve brings to the table. The southern rock edge stays with the songs as you dive forward but the dusty honky-tonk style starts to mix in as you dive forward and lyrics that tend to focus around bad love and alcohol start to pour out of your speakers such as on "Can't Stop Drinkin'" and the very vulnerable album closer "Broken Song." Reeve is very careful to let the traditional side of him shine through as well and at times lets the instrumentation dictate the song and lead you to the saloon's dance floor as the whine of the steel guitar is prominent throughout cuts like "Austin" and "Train of Misery." With the combination of traditional and modern country sewn together in this way, Tyler Reeve has stumbled upon what a large portion of country music lovers have been salivating for; new music with older vibes.
