A Straighter Line (Self-released, 2001)

Eleven Hundred Springs' third album is full of declarations of hard country living, with all of the broken hearts and road stop encounters that go with it. But the song that explains the band best is "Long-Haired, Tattooed Hippie Freaks." The band drops names like Willie and Waylon and Johnny Cash in this ode to Outlaw Country, referencing a time when the icons of the genre decided to grow their hair out and still pay homage to Hank Sr.

Apparently, the hair is still a problem, if you believe EHS. The band sings about the strange looks they get for their appearance - "But if they close their eyes and they open their ears and they let the music speak/They'd hear good old country music and not just long-haired hippie freaks." "A Straighter Line" proves the band is earnest in making that statement. The album was mostly recorded with the whole band playing together in the same room, with a couple of steel strings, a pedal steel, a stand-up bass, and drums. And despite their appearance, the band has the grit and the songwriting talent to make good old country music work for them. (Eleven Hundred Springs)