Max Stalling + The Broken Spokes

Texas country singer-songwriter Max Stalling pens tunes that connect, songs that form a snapshot of his life, songs that make an album. Five years after his last record, 2010’s relaxed honky-tonking opus Home to You, Stalling felt compelled to mold a full-length record. One-off singles are great, he admits, but there is such artistic strength in a cohesive body of work.

There was a time when country music had less pop and a lot less sheen, reserved for honky tonks and dancehalls. In today’s crowded music landscape, it’s become harder and harder to find traditional country acts, but Houston’s The Broken Spokes are as traditional as the genre gets. Full of twangy guitars and honky tonk undertones, the five piece makes the kind of country music that would make Johnny Cash and Hank Thompson proud. On their latest release, The Broken Spokes, the five piece takes you back to a time when playing country & western music was more about looks while transforming you to a nearby beer joint where friends commence over a couple of tall boys.