Reviews

Triggers & Slips What Do You Feed Your Darkness?

Posted by on September 9, 2022 at 8:12 am


By Brian Rock

Utah’s Honky-Tonk heroes, Triggers & Slips face their demons on their third album, What Do You Feed Your Darkness? With a balanced mix of tear in your beer ballads and boot stomping rousers, Triggers & Slips show why they’re one of the most popular Americana bands in the great Northwest.

“Family vs. Business” sets the tone lyrically and musically for the album. Blending rousing electric guitar with weepy pedal steel, lead singer Morgan Snow tells the tale of a wealthy trucking tycoon who “left nothing behind but broken hearts.” This Outlaw Country anthem explores the consequences of a life spent chasing the almighty dollar. With a yearning, Dwight Yoakam inspired voice, Snow sings, “Don’t die alone and your big mistake – holding on to what you could’ve said.” Like a musical “Death of a Salesman,” the song exposes the emptiness of material success without love.

“I Didn’t Mean To,” is another example of good time music showcasing bad life choices. This time the culprit is drugs instead of money. The results aren’t as dire here, but they do end up ruining a perfectly good 4th of July concert. “Going Nowhere,” reveals a heavy Bakersfield influence with brilliant piano and steel guitar interplay as the band expresses the frustration of failing to reach your goals. Going full tilt Bakersfield, the band covers Yoakam’s “It Won’t’ Hurt,” and does their own take on the genre with, “You Did It To Me Again.” “Done with Debbie,” takes an unexpectedly lighthearted turn. Combining barrelhouse piano and Texas Blues rhythms, the band creates a perfect back porch soundscape as they swear off their bad habits and the woman who introduced them. The band also explores Cosmic Cowboy rhythms on “Future Variations.”

Turning to ballads, the band belts some serious Bakersfield Blues. “True Love,” finds Snow and company asking, “How much longer will I ramble? How much further can I roam? What’s so appealing about being alone?” Again, the interplay between piano and steel guitar packs an emotional punch as we learn that the only thing sadder than being on the road away from your loved ones, is being on the road with no love to come home to. “Return To Me,” is another tall glass of sublime sorrow. “What Do You Feed Your Darkness?” takes a more philosophical, big picture perspective on broken hearts. Asking, “Where do you hide your pain? What kind of spell are you under? And who is to blame?” the band forces us to ask tough questions about how we got in our current state of despair. But in the end, they realize that “We all choose our own suffering.” We alone are the cause of our pain. We alone are the key to breaking free. Like the Native American story of the two wolves, it’s up to us to feed the right wolf.

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Brian Rock

Brian Rock

Brian was raised gypsy style, moving every other year until well after college. As friendships proved to be temporary, Brian found a constant companion in music, wearing the grooves off Beatles and Dylan albums before moving on to Lyle Lovett and Dwight Yokam. Living so often in flux, he has come to value music and lyrics of lasting quality. Not moved by trends or fashion, he is drawn to timeless lyrics and soulful rhythms. Although now settled down, Brian still expresses his gypsy spirit through his writing. He has co-written songs with musician friends he’s met along the way, including several contributions to the 2012 ICMA Album of the Year, Family Album. Brian also writes children’s books and poems, including the Children’s Book Council featured title, The Deductive Detective.
Brian Rock

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