Dark Horse Rider

Moore's second album is no sophomore slump by any stretch of the imagination. Everything on here works and works wonderfully. The production, a joint effort by the band, is 100% improved over Moore's debut effort, giving a real depth to the sparse, bandstand instrumentation with every player in clear focus. But the real surprise is how much Moore's songwriting talents, already pretty well-honed, have taken a major leap forward with this new disc. The highway song, "Tonight I Own the Road," tis rife with melancholy, "Bad Checks" is humorous without being corny while "Every Sad Song on the Jukebox" is a future cry-in-your-beer country classic lying in waiting. More care also went into the vocals this time around as Dallas' honky tonk baritone is more in control and far more present in the mix. Other highlights include "Just What I Need Tonight," the confessional "I'd Do It All Again for You" and the title track, a tune straight from the '70s Southern Rock songwriting handbook, right down to the righteous slide guitar licks. In a raft of cookie-cutter new faces in country, this is simply one fine album by a new artist carving out a career that appears to have legs.