Review: Hayes Carll 'We're Only Human'
For nine albums strong, Hayes Carll has turned his keen songwriter's eye on the foibles of society, politics, relationships, and more with a mix of touching sentiment and razor wit. On his tenth album, We're Only Human, Carll looks into a mirror and brings that same mixture to document his own life. “This record was inspired by a desire to start listening to my inner voice rather than running from it,” Carll says in the album's press release. “I need the reminder that we're only human.”
Carll succeeds in this mission across We're Only Human's ten tracks. On “I Got Away With It”, Carll reflects on his past relationship sins. Over a rolling guitar lick, Carll drawls “I let her believe / that I'd never leave / but the selfish we do what we must.” By song's end, he realizes that he may not have gotten away with as much as his past self thought he did.
“Stay Here Awhile” is perhaps the album's most introspective moment. Co-written with Hiss Golden Messenger's MC Taylor, it's a reflection of the small things in life that you only notice when you take the time to slow down and watch. A blue jay building a nest; the peace of a quiet soul; a meditation on lessons learned across a life.
He takes a more humorous tone on “Progress of Man (Bitcoin and Cattle).” Here he turns his eye back onto modern society and its greedy, selfish, and narcissistic tendencies, and the reflection of those traits we see in our leaders. This is where Carll is truly in his element. An energetic fiddle lick emphasizes lyrics like “World getting turned on / By assholes and racists / It's all for the progress of man.”
“Good People (Thank Me)” also taps into one of Carll's best talents: finding the oddballs of society and celebrating them. In this song, he details a couple who find themselves on opposite sides of a political rally and bond over how bad the toxic environment made them feel, a pair of feuding neighbors who find common ground in a love of apples. Carll makes it abundantly clear that he belongs right in the middle of these misfits, singing “He might have / a couple of issues / Well, I'll be honest / that guy is me.” The song ends with a call-and-response verse that feels like a barroom sing-along.
But the strongest song on We're Only Human comes at its end with the gospel-tinged “May I Never.” Most artists would pepper their guests across a whole album. Carll instead saved them all up for the end. Taking turns singing on “May I Never” are Ray Wylie Hubbard, Shovels & Rope, Darrell Scott, Nicole Atkins, and Gordy Quiest & Ed Jurdy from Band of Heathens. When the group comes together for the chorus, it sounds like a Southern gospel choir harmonizing “Holding on to the wonder and the glory / of a world and a spirit opened wide.”
Some things in life are just automatic. Hayes Carll releasing one of Americana's best albums of the year is one of them. While it might be a little different thematically than we've come to expect, Carll is too strong a songwriter to let a little bit of change stop him. We're Only Human is a strong recommendation.