Josh Abbott Band plans EP

Christmas Was

The Josh Abbott Band's five-song EP starts out slightly silly, but then gets really serious from the middle to the end. It also surprisingly covers a lot of subject matter ground in a short time span. It opens with "Santa Better Knock," which leans a little to the Eartha Kitt, sexy side of Christmas songs. This one is followed by "A Marshmallow World," a holiday song with probably the least amount of artistic food value, which finds Abbott and band just having a little ...

The Highway Kind

The Texas-based Josh Abbott Band's "The Highway Kind" effectively straddles the edginess of Texas alternative country with slick Nashville production values. The best two tracks are the opening title cut and the sweetly sentimental ballad that closes the set. Abbott kicks it off with the Erik Dylan, Troy Cartwright and Jon Randall tune about the constraint of city living ("Well, the downtown streets never got me where I was going") as compared to the preferred life on the ...

Catching Fire

Releasing five albums and two EPs since 2008, the normally prolific Josh Abbott Band returns more to its roots after exploring new, more Nashville-type sound over the last two albums. This self-released effort shows maturity and confidence by remembering who they are and expanding their base at the same time. With the title cut, "Catching Fire," co-written by Abbott, serving as a bridge between their past musical exploration and their rootsy Texas sound, it is his distinctive voice ...