David Serby’s mug, pictured on the back of his new Honkytonk and Vine CD, is the perfect image of modern day honky tonk man. He has the hat, the beard, and the jean jacket. Heck he’s not too far off from looking like a young Merle Haggard! Vocally, however, he’s miles away from The Hag’s rough ‘n tumble vocal tone. Instead, Serby has a smooth, suave singing instrument, which he uses to subtly get his points across. And while the CD cover features a close up of his boots touching down on a Hollywood Walk of Fame star, this man has by no means come any where close to going Hollywood yet. Those boots are just too tall and thick to let Hollywood’s corrupting influence in.

Like all the best country performers, Serby often sounds like a soul singer with twang. Take, “Honky Tonk Affair”, for example. Skip Edwards adds Hammond B3, like it’s an Al Green ‘70s soul ballad, while the lead guitar part brings bluesman Robert Cray’s stinging lead lines to mind. But with “I Only Smoke When I’m Drinkin’”, Serby is beautifully politically incorrect. He engages in both of these vices (smoking and drinking, that is) quite a bit because he only drinks to forget, and he has a load on his mind that can only be drowned away. Instrumentally, the wonderful Jay Dee Maness lays on the pedal steel thick and pure, just like an unfiltered cigarette in a club without ventilation. With “The Grass is Always Bluer”, Serby trades his amplified bar music for Kentucky hills acoustic sounds, which provide a strikingly pleasing contrast.

“Country Club Couples” is another song that could only come out the mouth of a country singer. Its lyric talks of how honky tonks are often magnetic dens of temptation, where inebriated couples fool around and also fool themselves into believing they’re not cheating.

Serby, who wrote all these songs, also has a witty way with words. After detailing many past jobs he’s hated during the verses to “Permanent Position“, he finally finds a position he can live with, which is “leaning on one elbow with a beer glass in my hand.” Elsewhere, on “Chasin' You”, he spells out the vanity in chasing after one particular romantic prey by singing, “What are you good for beneath all that pretty hair/ ‘Cept making me feel like a jerk.” Lastly, the title alone to “The Heartache’s On the Other Sleeve” is a winner all by itself.

Much of Serby’s music is sad, in a funny sort of way, and hardly dance floor ready. But the opener, “Get It in Gear” revs things up a bit, and “Go On and Cry”, with its upfront electric guitar, closes the disc on a high powered sonic note.

Honkytonk and Vine will not hit you over the head with a broken beer bottle. This isn’t hell raising music to rival, say, Kid Rock or Eric Church. Serby, instead, hypnotizes you with that silky voice of his to quietly get under your skin. With that said, country radio isn’t all that good about making room for independent artists like Serby. But Serby has the looks of a heartthrob, the voice of a seducer, and the talent to please those looking deeper than the superficial, so let’s cross our fingers he finds a soft place to land on the charts.
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It’s been a couple of years since David Serby’s last album, Another Sleepless Night, saw the light of day and during that time he’s continued honing his craft to perfection and even met his biological father for the first time. All this occurring on the backside of 30 is a little unconventional to be sure, but never mind that–his latest has him poised to break out of the local L.A. country scene and into discussion alongside the truly great country albums of the year.

Honkytonk and Vine is Serby’s third release to date and continues to build on his previous efforts, culminating in one exceedingly pleasing listen. The album’s musical influences run the gamut from honky-tonk (of course) to Tex-Mex, rockabilly, pop, soul, and even a bluegrass flavored tune with a melody that sounds suited for Western swing.

For something so stylistically diverse, Honkytonk and Vine is remarkably cohesive and pleasing rather than exhausting and confusing, and is anchored together by a voice which, although it cannot be called pristine, is much like Ralph Stanley II’s voice on his 2008 release This One is Two; Serby’s emotive ability is first-rate and his vocal phrasing is delightful.

Serby’s lyrics are simple, but evocative and freshly worded. Take, for instance, these lines from “Get It In Gear,” a song about a girl who keeps the narrator on his toes: “She burns through gin like motor fuel/I’m a cross-eyed cowboy falling off my stool“–humorous, expressive, and revealing. Despite their simplicity, Serby’s songs are capable of being pondered to reveal deeper truths without falling apart under scrutiny, and there’s not a bad one in the bunch. Quite the accomplishment, and especially so considering he penned each of the 13 songs himself.

Serby doesn’t attempt to push any boundaries in an indulgent attempt to be original, but nonetheless sounds creative while working within a particular framework, drawing from a number of influences and leaning on tradition without using it as a crutch.

However, Honkytonk and Vine still manages to be a musically stunning piece of work that breathes life and soul into a genre that’s been overrun with calculated guitar solos and melodic sound-alikes that deviate little from formulated templates. It’s music that demands to be noticed alongside the lyrics and is interesting where mainstream releases have recently failed–it’s not a thickly layered wall of Shinola, but rather–as Serby describes a character in “Chasin’ You”–it is “style beyond compare.”

This is an album that hasn’t been overly filtered and manages to make fewer missteps than ones that pass by infinitely more eyes and hands. So, while it seemingly takes more risks, the reward is far greater.

In short, with Honkytonk and Vine you can have your cake and eat it, too; style and substance. Imagine that.

Recommended: “Tumble Down,” “I Only Smoke When I’m Drinkin’,” “The Heartache’s On the Other Sleeve,” “Country Club Couples”
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