Justin Townes Earle is the son of Steve Earle and partly named after Townes van Zandt. Both Steve Earle and Townes van Zandt lived turbulent lives and mixed their brilliant songwriting with shooting heroin. Add to that seven broken marriages. Then it's maybe not a surprise that many years of Justin's life have been marked by alcohol and drug abuse; he was a full-fledged drug addict already at 14-15. Fortunately, he seems to have put all that behind him. Justin has married, moved to another corner of the US and his wife is pregnant. In addition, he has changed record company to the seasoned and stable New West; a company where Steve Earle was previously signed and that currently releases the albums of Nikki Lane. Moreover, Kids in the Street is produced by the brilliant Bright Eyes producer Mike Mogis, who has dressed Earle's songs in a tidy and larger suit than usual. The most surprising instrument must be the nifty marimba in Same Old Stagolee.
As usual Earle skilfully mixes rock, folk, country and blues. It could be at risk of sounding fragmented, but it's most cohesive and the song material is stronger and more interesting than ever.
The bitter-sweet title track is a breathtakingly beautiful, graphic and nostalgic trip back to 1993 when Justin was eleven years old and played football in the streets, as his dad was arrested for heroin possession. It's probably one of the best songs he has ever written. Faded Valentine is a comfortably cradling country song, that despite the title evokes warm feelings. Overall, it really feels like Justin Townes Earle has freed himself from the past, let go of the heavy luggage and chosen to focus on the future. On his family, his career, his music. With one foot in Memphis and the other in Nashville, Kids in the Street is a clear sign of strength from Earle, and one of the must-have Alt-Country / Americana albums of 2017.