Jason and the Scorchers

“Clear Impetuous Morning”

Pulse! Magazine
October 1996

Copyright 1996 - 2004 Pulse! Magazine

After an encouraging reunion effort that nonetheless failed to tap into the primal fire and emotional depth of their best work, cowpunk pioneers Jason and the Scorchers are firing on all cylinders again on Clear Impetuous Morning (Mammoth/Atlantic, ****). Hick axe hero Warner Hodges and the possessed rhythm section churn up sufficient brimstone to match frontman Jason Ringenberg’s newly re-inspired wreckage-and-redemption lyrics.
The band rocks as fiercely as ever on “Self-Sabotage”, “2+1=Nothing” and an inspired cover of Roger McGuinn and Gram Parsons’ “Drugstore Truck Drivin’ Man”, while the more introspective stuff like “To Feel No Love” and “Everything Has a Cost” (the latter featuring a guest vocal by Emmylou Harris) restore Ringenberg to his rightful position as one of roots-rock’s most rewardingly complex characters.

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