Album Reviews

On album number three, Avail’s former frontman picks up where he left off with 2008’s “Manchester”. The result is another batch of songs that hold their own between country, Americana and folk.

“Things Of The Past” is a lively opening song that makes you choose between either reflecting on the lyrics or getting those legs into motion. “Bozeman” is a mellow country song that precedes a dive into a piece of Viriginia’s lesser known history with “Prosser’s Gabriel”, a 5-minute long tale about an attempted slave uprising. It features just Barry and his acoustic guitar, yet it doesn’t fail to keep your interest piqued all throughout the song. It stands in shrill contrast to “Will Travel” where Barry is backed up by the No BS Band who add their Nola-styled horns to the mix. And then there’s still “(Memento Mori)” to discover, one of the album’s most powerful songs almost hidden away at the end of the album.

“28th & Stonewall” is a pretty diverse album and knowing that the good man wrote most of the songs in barely three weeks, is just more proof of his songwriting skills. If you’re into the likes of Chuck Ragan, Drive-By Truckers or Lucero, you need to get this album.