Lorene from Left Arm Tan

By Brian Rock

Start your engines and roll down your windows, because it’s time for the newest musical road trip from Left Arm Tan.  Lorene is the third full length offering from the Fort Worth based quintet. Picking up where they left off, they continue their distinctive brand of melodic Americana. With expert musicianship and sweet vocal harmonies, Left Arm Tan (LAT to fans) are as polished as a rodeo belt buckle on a Saturday night at Billy Bob’s.

With spring in the air and summer right around the corner, Lorene is just in time to be the soundtrack to your favorite season. Half of the album is hammock-worthy, mellow grooves. Songs like “Blacktop Blues,” “Brass On Burgundy,” “High Pains Drifter” and “Hung Up” just slap the worries from your mind and put a smile on your face. Even though most of the songs are about break ups and regrets, they’re told from the vantage point of someone who’s better off for the change. And the melodies’ infectious, optimistic rhythms completely sucker punch the remorse right out of the lyrics; achieving a perfect Zen-like balance. “Hung Up,” is a perfect example. The lyrics opine, “Love is a bonfire made of bayonets. It burns and pierces without regrets. When I kiss your lips, I almost forget that you were the one who gave me Tourette’s.” But the melody grooves with a soulful, buoyant vibe – complete with Hammond organ riffs, backing vocal harmonies in the chorus, and a generous helping of cowbell. Like a glass of homemade lemonade, the lyrics are the lemon and the melody is the sugar – Delicious!

But the album also features songs that make you want to get up and move like you’re at an outdoor summer concert series. The chooglin’, “Gonna Find Me A Rock,” the Kinks inspired, “Daylight Redemption,” The Sister Hazel-ish, “Break Even,” and the raucus, “Freedom Bus” absolutely demand to be danced to. Of these, “Freedom Bus,” is an absolute gem. Rife with astute social commentary, LAT sings, “Let me ride in your freedom bus. All I want is more for us and less for you.” Mocking the trust fund babies who demand free tuition from others who are forced to work for a living, the song recasts Dylan’s “Like A Rolling Stone” for a new generation.

In short, Lorene is to your ears what your favorite ice-cold beverage is to your parched throat on a hot summer’s day – sweet, smooth, and satisfying.

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