The Warren Brothers
Well-Deserved Obscurity
(429 Records)

Amplifier Magazine, July/August 2004

Three albums on, the Warren Brothers provide a teasing look at what country could be if its stars were as preoccupied with originality as they were with simply selling records. Not that the Warrens aren’t able to fit the formula; while their tunes fit into a rock regimen, at least two of these tracks seem a natural fit for contemporary country radio – the weepy ballad “Trouble Is” and the rowdy, redneck anthem, “Sell a Lot of Beer.” Yet despite their proven hit potential – not to mention a track record that includes multiple top 20 hits and five CMA nominations – the Warrens cast themselves as ne’er-do-wells whose only ambition is to croon for the regulars down at the local pool hall. The album’s self-effacing title alludes to that supposed scenario, as do some of its songs, specifically the aforementioned “Sell a Lot of Beer” (“I don’t sell a lot of records/But I sure sell a lot of beer”) and “Change” (“One of these days my luck is gonna change/They’ll think I’m brilliant instead of insane…”). Mostly though, they ruminate on world-weary despair, venting their thoughts through resolute determination (“Comeback,” “Goodbye to Neverland,” “Runnin’ Out of Heroes”) as well as a hell-raisin’ Stones/Skynyrd-like swagger (“Liquid Confidence,” “Quarter to Three”). Yet, for all their posturing, there’s a sense of yearning and frustration lying just below the surface, one that assumes the brothers aren’t nearly the losers their songs would imply.