Dwight Yoakam: Brighter Days

Dwight Yoakam doesn’t make bad records, and Brighter Days reaffirms this with its feisty, crackling collection of retro honky-tonk and rockabilly. Never a Nashville artist, the brash Kentucky native has taken obvious inspiration from the Bakersfield sound epitomized by Buck Owens and Merle Haggard while supercharging it with turbo-twang guitar and a rock ’n’ roll edge. Now 68, Yoakam is still the same swaggering guy who used to open for LA punk bands like X during his cowpunk 80s. “Wide Open Heart,” the opening rave-up, rocks out of the gate with a rascal’s glee in the crunchy gallop of Eugene Edwards’ electric guitar and Yoakam’s clever, character-driven lyrics.  Post Malone teams up with Yoakam on the first single, “I Don’t Know How to Say Goodbye,” a light, collaborative two-step romp with an insidiously catchy chorus. Yoakam tips his hat to Californian influences like the Byrds with a vital cover of Chris Hillman’s “Time Between,” all chiming guitars, country croon, and melodic confection. But it’s the title song that most reflects Yoakam’s current state of mind, reflecting the joy at starting a family later in life with a young son—who even sings a few bars here. Brighter Days showcases Yoakam’s knack for transcending country music’s boundaries and blending the old with the new.