Stevie Tombstone

Stevie Tombstone sets a strange contrast. On one hand the instrumental work on his album 7:30 AM is well-executed, sombre country blues. Pedal steel guitars and fiddles give the album a relaxed feeling and although they may be slightly steeped in country convention, they are played with a relaxed delivery where many new artists opt for the "Can you believe we can afford a pedal steel?" approach to mixing. The contrast to this comes in Mr. Tombstone’s approach to vocals. Although his voice is good enough, the lyrics on the album are ridiculously contrived. While the genre is full of beaten to death convention, it still works. Empty bars and broken hearts are taken at face value here as Tombstone misses the subtleties of his influences and makes a strikingly flat effort at reproducing genre ties rather than writing something relevant.