Send "Justin Townes Earle " Ringtones to your Cell 
| Pastemagazine |
 Moments before I first saw Justin Townes Earle, my buddy tells me this guy is "the future of punk rock." Naturally, only first hearing of the man that night, I was reluctant. That is, until Earle and right-hand man Cory Younts took to the old theater stage, playing stripped-down, bluesy country-folk songs—songs, and that's it. No fancy production, no "oohs and ahhs," no distractions. Just a refreshingly minimalist collection of two- to three-minute tunes that at times sounded some 60 years old, but never once felt stale.Many of those tracks found their way onto Earle's sophomore record and third overall release, Midnight at the Movies, his best and most thorough work. It's as if he extracted the emotional transparency and simplicity from his self-released EP, Yuma, and mixed that with the hints of rockabilly and studio finesse of his debut album, The Good Life. The result is a nearly flawless, organic LP. And he makes it all sound so easy on tracks like "They Killed John Henry" and "Halfway to Jackson," which mainly revolve around some hurried acoustic finger plucking, with a couple of other non-invasive instruments like a harmonica or standup bass to round it all out. Even Earle’s unexpected take on the Replacements’ “Can’t Hardly Wait” sounds as if Paul Westerberg had written it for this very album....full text |
| Latimesblog |
| On his sophomore album, Earle has a song called "They Killed John Henry" that starts out at the folk hero's funeral and moves the celebrated tale forward. It's a gutsy move for a songwriter, essentially offering up a sequel to a slice of classic American folk literature, but Steve Earle's son clearly has the talent to carry out such ambition effortlessly. He's fully absorbed his genetic and cultural heritage and draws upon both with great skill and dimension. "Mama's Eyes" recognizes the curse and blessing of that heritage. He walks in the large footsteps of Willie Nelson and Bob Wills in "What I Mean to You" and "Poor Fool," a couple of Texas honky-tonk swing tunes....full text |
| Rollingstones |
| On his 2008 debut, Justin Townes Earle, son of rebel troubadour Steve Earle, seemed like he was getting up to speed with classic country and folk forms. But he sounds like a natural–born honky–tonker on his new album. Bad news love songs get slowed to morphine drips; the country–blues number about John Henry showcases Earle's hot fingerpicking. Best are the wild cards, like the Replacements cover that recalls the band liked mandolins. "We don't see eye to eye," Earle sings of his dad at one point, clearly understanding the necessity....full text |
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