Mutt is an apt description for singer-songwriter Cory Branan's newest album, as it's got a little of everything, all mixed up according to Branan's specifications. This is Branan's third LP, and he's thus far made a reputation on solid albums featuring his expressive wordsmithing and excellent guitar skills. Some fans, myself included, first heard of Cory from the Lucero song "Tears Don't Matter Much," which name-checks a number of the band's musician friends by name. Branan may be buddies with the boys in Lucero, but his sound bears little resemblance to their ragged-voiced country punk. He tends to be somewhat more varied, jumping around from sound to sound to fit each individual song, which makes it no surprise that he chose the word "Mutt" as the album title, since he's long been using it to describe his sound.
It's true that overall, Mutt has a rural feel that offers a nod to his Tennessee background, but nearly every track contains something that you didn't expect, and in many cases it's the entire song. "The Corner" starts things off with delicate fingerpicking and features Jon Snodgrass of Drag the River fame providing backing vocals. "Bad Man" finds Branan doing his best Springsteen with fine results, the track "Snowman" takes a trip deep into Tom Waits territory, and "Yesterday (Circa Summer 80 somethin')" shows that he's been giving Mellencamp a spin or two. He could be simply aping some heroes, but it comes off as more than that. Branan knows that an album doesn't have to be twelve songs that all sound pretty much like the lead single, and he intends to take advantage of that. He's trying his hand at sounds and styles that he's not used before, and though some songs here are emotionally heavy, it still sounds like he's having fun making his music the way he wants it.
Mutt is Branan's most musically accomplished record to date, and his writing has never been sharper. Check out a solo performance of "The Corner" that Cory did for a recent Nervous Energies session below:
