11th Album from Austin based poet of
America's underclass
Recorded in the middle of an ice storm the follow up 2005's mighty
Honest Abe And The Assassins captures Ovans in unrepentantly hard
faced form. Poverty and despair, lost and forgotten souls provide the
backdrop for the contemplative Hole In My Shoe. But Tom's own unique twist on electric
blues are staple too - his raw rasping voice zeroes in on a world where "reality's a
freak show I don't believe anymore"while cauterising guitars blaze. Everywhere there
are grim warnings from the heartland, though the lyrical spell woven on the lovely Madame
George alike, mouth harp gilded Sugar Mama provides welcome succour.
Gavin Martin, London, UK
