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Jason Boland & The Stragglers

Jason Boland & The Stragglers
Boland is talking about the deep body of work hes created with his band of jangly honky-tonk aces, the StragglersGrant Tracy on bass; drummer and background vocalist Brad Rice; Nick Worley on fiddle, mandolin, and harmonies; and Cody Angel on guitar and pedal steel. Fronted and co-founded by Boland with Tracy and Rice, the band has featured only a handful of other members over the last 20 years, all of whomwhether theyre currently Stragglers or notare like brothers. As theyve independently sold more than half a million albums, the outfit has packed iconic dancehalls, theaters, and other big rooms across the country.

With their new record Hard Times are Relative, Boland and the Stragglers stack the smart, road-ready outlaw country longtime fans have come to expect alongside creative risks that flirt with punk and psychedelic sounds. The 10-song collection is a rare blend of instantly gratifying and rewarding of closer listensa definitively Stragglers accomplishment. Its an upbeat albuma lot of fast songs, but it doesnt try to be fast, Boland says with characteristic insight. It just sits in the pocket.