This came out in 2004 – or at least that’s when I got it. Here’s what I said about it back then (with some minor editing):
You have to hand it to BR549.
After a decade of touring, a mittful of commercially ignored discs and — most critically — the loss of two original members, lotsa bands would have called it a day. But not these blue-collar Nashville hillbilles. They just keep twanging away in semi-obscurity, making some of the catchiest roots-rock that never caught on. Tangled In The Pines, their seventh release, picks up the trail blazed on 2001’s This Is BR549, which found them toning down the kitschy ditties accessible alt-country and raucous roots-rock.
This is not necessarily a bad thing. On a cut-by-cut basis, this is one of the band’s strongest and most varied discs, featuring bits of Mavericks-style craftsmanship (That’s What I Get, co-penned by none other than Raul Malo), California country-rock (I’m All Right), Blasters pinky-finger guitar choogle (Ain’t Got Time) and field-holler blues (Run A Mile) to go with the zippy rockabilly (No Train to Memphis) and jangly honkytonk (When I Come Home). Still, next to the unbridled hijinks of their old days, Tangled In The Pines is almost a bid for respectability — which is a pretty bold move for a band named after a Hee-Haw sketch.
