dixie chicks better watch da f**k out

Dustin Kensrue
"Please Come Home"
(Equal Vision)

Underoath's drummer/singer, Aaron Gillespie, has been all around the U.S. recently playing under his solo moniker, The Almost, which embraces the pop-punk aspect of Underoath's sound. Perhaps it was intentional to not stray away from what he knows best; at the same time, Gillespie shouldn't expect much of a backlash since The Almost could be described best as "Underoath without screaming."

Unlike Gillespie, Thrice frontman, Dustin Kensrue, has taken a different direction with his solo debut, "Please Come Home." The album boasts eight songs of the country persuasion and probably has more in common with a band like Lucero rather than Johnny Cash; not that that's a bad thing, mind you.

The record's lead single, "Pistol," is a heart-on-my-sleeve ditty which I can imagine being a karaoke favorite in Divetown, New Mexico. The title track is grounded a little bit more in a contemporary country music meaning that it could easily be used as music for a car commercial, so long as no one's really paying attention to the lyrics.

At its best, "Please Come Home" plays like an introduction to non-glitzy country music. It's a bit more melodic than a Loretta Lynn record, but it doesn't quite capture the idiocy of someone like Toby Keith. It's a fairly easy listen, though I imagine people who are really down with this kind of music would simply turn their noses up at it.