Welding Burns finds Rod Picott singing songs that aren’t very ‘mainstream’ country but they certainly could be with strong melodies and stories that cover the plight of people in America. Like legendary singer/songwriters like Bruce Springsteen, Neil Young, Guy Clark, Slaid Cleaves and Rodney Crowell, Rod Picott hits you right in the heart and mind and “Rust Belt Fields,” which opens up the record, tells a story of the loss of manufacturing jobs with the stark couplet of hopelessness: “No one gets a bonus for bloody knuckles and scars/no one remembers your name just by working hard.”
The title track tells the tale of how ‘something’s you’re born with, some things you got to learn” like “broken homes, wrecked cars, scars and welding burns.” Of course the latter things are “learned” over time. “Black T-Shirt” features a Robert Earl Keen-like percussive melody and moaning steel guitars which help to accentuate the stark lyrics of Rod Picott’s story of a down-trodden man making his way through life. The blues rocker “410” finds Rod singing of severely down on his luck man who becomes ‘self-employed’ by taking to a life of crime. “Little Scar” finds Rod singing about the details of a lost relationship over a mostly acoustic and steel guitar – drenched melody.
Harmony vocalist Amanda Shires showcases her fiddle prowess on “Sheetrock Hanger” as Rod sings a song about how the blue collar jobs for non-college educated guys have become few and far between and how many of them have gone to even cheaper labor, like immigrant Mexicans. “Jealous Heart” uses interesting wordplay and metaphors to describe a jealous heart while “Still, I Want You Bad” finds Rod singing about all of the things that disturb him about his partner in crime yet he still really loves her. Once again Shires provides superlative harmony vocals on the track. “Your Father’s Tattoo” is mid-tempo percussion and fiddle-filled track which finds Rod singing about man who has lived a great life and has many stories to tell about ‘em all while “When My Running Is Through” ends the record on a hopeful yet honest meditation about a common man with common possessions and how he will leave his worldly possessions with the love of his life.
Welding Burns is a fantastically deep and layered album that manages to get better and better with each listen. Produced by Picott on a budget funded by fans, this album showcases just what can happen when an artist is able to make an album free of recording label concerns. If you love great singer/songwriter records, do yourself a favor and pick up a copy of Welding Burns. It’s on our shortlist for best albums of 2011.
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