After a decade fronting the Richmond, Virginia- based indie rock band Joe Buck, Jr., Rob Williams turned to a solo career releasing his first LP A Place in the Sun in 2013 which showcased his penchant for storytelling and Southern charm.
Now, two years later comes Williams’ follow up eight-track album Southern FM. Recorded in Dallas, Texas at Pleasantry Lance Studio and helmed by producer Salim Nourallah (Rhett Miller, Old 97’s), Southern FM blends traditional folk influences with a hint of alternative flavor on the side.
Rob and his backing musicians kick off Southern FM with the upbeat and tuneful kiss-off “Footprints” that revels in a fast-thrummed bass line, rapidly strummed guitar lines, and sharp drums and cymbals. A sliding guitar twang forms sweet,…
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…but brief, curling notes throughout the tune while Rob states lightly, but matter-of-factly that “You’ll see footprints walking away / That’s me saying goodbye.” The buoyant agitation continues on “Best I Can Do”, which is immersed in a thumping drum beat, jangling guitar lines, tambourine, and crisp hand-clap percussion. Rob’s perceptive lyrics come to the fore as he directly, but softly declares “Some people climbing ladders / have no idea what they’re even after / They hope someday to be on track.” and “The time you clock you can’t get back.”
The snappily-rollicking “Where You Hang Your Heart” recalls a train rolling down the track with its speedy pace and burnished pulls of harmonica. Rob sings about the core of a relationship and how, even in the midst of change, the union can still hold true. He reaches out in a plaintive tone on the lines “If you’re thinking of leaving because you’re ready to begin something new… / It’s where you hang your heart that I will call home.” Heart-warming lead single “Sometimes It’s A Song” is rich with melodious acoustic guitars, contemplative piano, and brushed drums. While the tempo is still upbeat, Rob’s calm and reflective vocal delivery gives it a weightier feel as he ruminates about his love who he met at a club that he was playing at. He gently muses “Looking out at the room / Was there anybody else there but me and you? / You smiled bright as the sun” (even though it was raining at the time).
Rambling guitar fills out the subdued, but quickly moving “Henry And Maria” which rests mainly on Rob’s emotive vocals and uplifting lyrics. He takes on the role of storyteller on this track, as he confides (as Henry) that he loves Maria and wants to marry her. Henry asks Maria’s father for his blessing and the father replies yes, as long as he can uphold the “…promise to make a better life.” Rob is backed by the lighter, airy tones of a female guest singer and slow bittersweet harmonica as he proclaims “For the rest of my life, I do / Make that promise to you.”
On the next two tracks Rob cools his vocals off due to the change in musical styles. “Sun Goes Down” is more of a straight-ahead rocker that’s built up with acoustic and reverbed guitar lines, tambourines, and prominent piano. “You’ve Been A Bad Christian” skips along with a jaunty pace of sprightly rag-time piano and guitars, occasional organ notes, and dynamic, ticking percussion. On the album’s last track “Anything But Gone” a regretful Rob asks, with a Southern twist to his vocal delivery, “I’ve been wonderin’ where the right went wrong / In the mornin’ when I wake up and find myself wakin’ up alone…” The tempo remains peppy, however, giving his crestfallen lyrics a brighter, more hopeful sheen.