Bio
Baltimore-based Terrence & the Straight Shooters first gained attention for spare, alt-country gems, such as 2020’s “Just Like Orphans” or 2018’s “My Country ‘Tis of Me.” It’s as if fellow East Coaster Dougie Poole and Terence & the Straight Shooters were stubbornly leading a Mid-Atlantic strain of country revival, bringing East a trail blazed by Warren Zevon: rejecting sentimentalism and fashioning new sonic approaches within a rich, if often hidebound, tradition.
A rotating cast of musicians and backup vocalists bring these songs to life, while providing an idiosyncratic and mercurial strain. If the song’s emotional expression requires lap steel, or something called, according to one release, "umami drums," Terrence will throw that into a mix. You can imagine Terrence rolling into town and assembling his Straight Shooters the way a seasoned vigilante assembles a posse in a frontier saloon. On other songs, Terrence, the lone ranger, plays all the instruments himself.
A few hallmarks remain consistent. He likes sultry female backup vocals to compliment his own wry delivery. He is fluent in the musical touches of classic Motown and R&B; for example, “Love Songs I Like” combines bending guitar licks with single-note harmonica blasts to form a true insider’s rhythm section. He keeps the vocals front and center, and doesn’t skimp on recording quality--one of his most trusted mixing studios is in Memphis, birthplace of Sun Records. And, throughout his catalog, Terrence takes risks, exposing his personal tastes. Ultimately, this is what entices listeners to return to an artist: to hear who he really is. We don’t really care, not late at night, or driving up I-95 with friends and lovers, how well he’s regurgitated whatever’s currently fashionable, or how successfully he's arrived at some safe consensus thematically.
This is Terrence & the Straight Shooters’ rebuke to our conformist culture. Every original choice is a loving Americana micro-culture, idiosyncratic yet part of something bigger. Our dominant monoculture seeks to flatten, to dominate; the catalog of Terrence & the Straight Shooters effectively combats the hollowing out of great American songwriting, and seduces.
What I love about each Terrence & the Straight Shooters release is that while I’m pretty sure there will be ballads, rockers, and all sorts of alt-country songs, there will also always be surprises. He’s now a confident pro, and no doubt his releases will continue to deepen his commitments, musically, if not romantically—though, a romantic at heart, true love itself might be a forthcoming Terrence & the Straight Shooters' album’s surprise.
-PH