Borrowed Trouble (Self-released, 2017)

Hailing from Aiken, S.C., the Kenny George Band - Kenny George (lead guitar, vocals, songwriter), Bucky Brown (drums, harmony vocals), Center Ely (steel guitar), Brooks Andrews (bass) and Scott Rankin (rhythm guitar, harmony vocals) - have honed their abilities by working the road. In the past two years, they've played 250 shows. That relentless dedication to craft has paid off in other ways as well, as the songs on "Borrowed Trouble" easily affirm.

Indeed, with all that experience under their collective belts, their eagerness to share reflection and rumination isn't surprising, These are tales gleaned from the endless miles between gigs, a tough and yet tender sound that speaks to the loneliness that accompanies nights spent away from home and endless second guessing as far as lessons learned and connections lost.

Those musings quickly come to the fore on "Lovin's Kinda Lonely" and "Picket Fences," two songs that deal specifically about the cost that comes from pursuing one's dreams while also putting one's life on hold in that effort to do so. The band shares a certain sound as well, one that's gleaned from predecessors such as The Byrds, the Burrito Brothers, Poco and other outfits that etched the sounds of Southern California in rock's onward progression during the late '60s and early '70s. Those influences are evident in many of these songs - "Stepping Stone," "Carolina Too," "Storm Clouds," and "Cigarettes & Strange" in particular.

Ultimately, for all the doubt and despair, "Borrowed Trouble" rings with resilience. There's triumph in the turmoil, reason enough to suspect that whatever troubles they accrue - borrowed or otherwise - the Kenny George Band is more than capable of soldiering on successfully.