Modern Don Juans
2006
Jailhouse Religion
About This Album
"What am I still doing here? What the hell is going on?" David Childers howls with all the fire and brimstone of a street-corner preacher in his opening song, "No Pool Hall." Throughout the rest of his album, Childers confronts a number of hells, from alcoholism to poverty to the Devil himself. He expresses his struggles and indignations with the world with a truly bracing set of music. On revved-up numbers like "Peanut," "Strayaway Child," and the title track, Childers and his backing band, the Modern Don Juans, slug out blasts of raging country-rock that suggest Steve Earle on a punk bender. The North Carolina-based roots rocker even ventures into heavy metal territory on the apocalyptic "Danse Macabre." His gruff, world-wise vocals, which recall Earle or a rougher-edged Bob Seger, project a ferocity that sounds like both a condemnation and a catharsis. Childers slows the pace down occasionally to showcase his country side. The Tex-Mex-flavored "Roadside Parable" would be a perfect match for Joe Ely, while the banjo-led "Chains of Sadness" is a fine front-porch outing. On a couple of tunes, he tackles political history in his shot-from-the-hip style.
Track List (try tracks 1,2,3,7 and 11)

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