Gurf Morlix

On his first all-original album since 2009, the Austin, TX legend reaffirms his position as one of Americana's most painfully honest singer-songwriters. Setting a heavy mood with opening track "My Life's Been Taken," Morlix sticks with it through the majority of the ensuing nine songs, painting bleak portraits of desperate men chasing love and money while on the run from past mistakes. But as a snapshot of a segment of the wider population, Finds The Present Tense is surely accurate. "Bang Bang Bang" is a prescient observation of America's gun epidemic, while "Small Window" is a poignant reflection on incarceration. Morlix, as always, strikes deepest when writing about toxic relationships, and "Gasoline" and "You Walk Away" will hit home with anyone who's been in one. Musically, Morlix remains in top form, particularly on "These Are My Blues," indulging in some sublime guitar playing. Morlix's blues, indeed, are his, but at heart they're universal. Reality, most of the time, isn't pretty, but Morlix keeps doing his best to make us deal with it.