Billy Wallace & The Virginia Blues – Tucumcari, New Mexico and Other Songs

Billy Wallace & The Virginia Blues has been kicking up dust on the country-indie circuit for the better part of four years now; and while times keep changing, Wallace continues to sing of life wandering on well travelled, ageless country roads.  His latest full length, Tucumcari, New Mexico and Other Songs, exists in the same rustic, idealic world of yesteryear.  And while Wallace last existed in the shadow of likeminded indie-goers like Ben Kweller and Conor Oberst, his constancy and commitment to his trade now brands him a frontrunner.

Wallace is above all a man willing to blow in the wind, follow the dusty trail, and jump on a boxcar heading deeper into the countryside at a moment’s notice.  “Noel’s Blues” has that very “wispy,” open-breeze-free flow you’d expect from a railcar transient’s rusty harmonica.  “I’ve got to get back and see her one more time – before the city chops her down,” sings Wallace like a country boy cautioning of big city lights.  Wallace’s tongue is every bit as honest as his guitar’s easy going twang – his imagery unforgiving in details; images of living “cold and alone” in a land celebrating “empty bottles and overflowed ashtrays” makes songs like “O! Be Joyful,” a believable glance into the minds of real people’s defining memories.

Each track builds a personality around some kind of subtle instrument.  Whether it’s the upbeat harmonica solos of “Dear Lynn” or Mexican horns ushering in “Tucumcari, New Mexico,” there’s a vivid sense of connection to each place or story.  Songs like “Amy’s Interlude” moseys along as an innocent break-up song, and “A Love Song For Johannes Kepler” takes a left turn into the well-lit stage of an old timey tavern with patron’s raising a glace to Wallace’s aged piano.  The songs are more about endings than beginnings – letting go rather than hanging on.  As exemplified in tracks like “Seeing The Light,” Wallace knows the value in acceptance. 

Billy Wallace & The Virginia Blues seems to take their sweet time between releases, but doesn’t think that mean Wallace loses steam in the interim.  Fact is, Tucumcari, New Mexico and Other Songsrepresents Wallace’s strongest offering to date.  With each song admirably bridging lyrics with musical knowhow, The Virginia Blues’ diverse instrumental makeup plays out in an atmosphere ripe in alluring finesse.  While many of the tracks might seem a little glum, their honest intent redeems each with Wallace’s tactful handling.