Regular Columnists

Artist: Kevin Higgins
Album: Find Your Shine
Label: Little Train Records
Website: http://www.kevinjameshiggins.com
Genre: Americana, country
Technical Grade: 9/10
Production/Musicianship Grade: 9/10
Commercial Value: 9/10
Overall Talent Level: 9/10
Songwriting Skills: 9/10
Best Songs: Out In The Fields, Monahans, Alone Star
CD Review:

West Texas can be a desolate place. The long empty spaces between Fort Worth and El Paso are punctuated by dry, lazy little towns and the wind never stops blowing. West Texas songwriter, Kevin Higgins has released a new CD called Find Your Shine that captures the images of these landscapes as well as the soul of the hard working people who live there. 

Higgins voice is authentic and his songs are richly textured.  He plays guitar and is joined by Barbara Malteze on piano, vocals, and keys. Stephen Doster produced this very listenable CD and plays guitar while J.J. Johnson provides drums and percussion and John Gammill plays bass. John Leon plays pedals steel, Chip Dolan plays organ/accordion, and Warren Hood plays violin and mandolin.

The songs are pure Americana. Higgins’ vividly descriptive lyrics shine in songs like Monahans, and Curtains. Story songs like Levee Boys and Kickaround Kid show Higgins as the comsummate storyteller. The band provides a comfortable cushion for Higgins’ whiskey smooth vocal and Doster’s production is clean and crystal clear. Find Your Shine is a nice outing from Higgins with some strong songwriting and voice that sounds like West Texas. Check it out.