Dallas Burrow - Dallas Burrow (2021)

Country artist Dallas Burrow’s best songs are when he’s looking inward. No wonder he named the record after himself.

Dallas Burrow’s story is a familiar one, although, like each case, the details are different. He was a rough and rowdy fella living the life of a traveling musician and had achieved modest success. His 2019 debut album, Southern Wind, recorded in Nashville, reached number four on the US Alt-Country chart and number 25 on the UK Americana chart. Then he found the love of a good woman, had a kid, and settled down to a life of domestic happiness. His self-titled new album features songs about the joys of family life.

Burrow states this clearly on the confessional “Easter Sunday”. The Texas singer-songwriter sings with conviction, “I’ve done my fair share / Of rambling and running wild / Ain’t nothing in the world that compares / To a woman and a child.” The lyrics are simple and direct. They achieve their power through Burrow’s delivery. He sounds like he’s got gravel in this throat and needs to spit out the lyrics. There’s something aching to escape. That’s not because he’s in pain. The opposite seems to be true. He feels the need to proclaim his joy at finding what he didn’t even know what he was looking for. He begins the album with the sweet “Country Girl” to honor the woman who saved him.