Grant Langston’s Stand Up Man places him firmly in the Bakersfield tradition of country music as exemplified by the likes of Buck Owens and Merle Haggard and latterly Dwight Yoakam, a tough guitar driven sound. In this tradition Langston and his band The Supermodels are a crack outfit with fine guitar and vocals that hiccup with the best of them and for this reason alone the disc is well worth listening to. With songs about mixing liquor and painkillers (“Shiner Bock and Vicodin) and an extended bender following a break up (30 Days) Langston shows that he can write heartbreak songs in the best tradition of his forebears. “Just Pretend You Love Me Tonight” is a stand out here, a song that utilises clichés about true love over a swooning pedal steel that tugs at the heartstrings and could easily become a country staple in the right hands. Although such songs are firmly ensconced in familiar territory there is a sly humour which runs throughout the album (and perhaps explains the band’s name) as Langston states that he wanted “to make an album steeped in its country roots but with a sound and lyrical content that’s equal parts irreverence and homage.” Played loud and (preferably liquored up) it’s a swell listen. Check his page here.

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