Luba Dvorak - American Sin  (click on image to watch video)

04 September 2019

Never underestimate the power of Waylon and Willie.

Luba Dvorak was born in the Czech Republic and raised in Vancouver, but thanks to a steady stream of classic ‘70s Outlaw Country Mr. Dvorak sounds like a native Texan raised on Shiner beer and shows at Armadillo World Headquarters. His 10-track American Sin is subtle twang in the spirit of the Outlaw Country founders, as well as folks like Dwight Yoakam and Robert Earl Keen. 

The lyrics veer into hokey territory every now and then, and it’s hard to tell if he’s being earnest or singing with his tongue firmly planted in his cheek, (especially on a song like the opening track, “Single Scoop, Single Lady”). The same problem threatens to plague “Brake Lights” (On This LA Freeway),” but the song is too damn addictive for it to matter. Other times, his lyrical bluntness pays off in spades, like on the fantastic “Brooklyn Twang,” (“A little bit of grease/a little bit of whiskey/a little bit of weed/you’re gonna want to kiss me”), backed by guitar lines so fierce, you’d swear he was playing Waylon’s leather-wrapped telecaster. The song, destined to be Dvorak’s calling card, specifically namechecks Willie, Waylon, Johnny Cash and Hank Williams.  

On one of the most poignant moments of the record, Dvorak deftly tackles current events with the title track, focusing on a Guatemalan father desperately trying to give his family a better life in the U.S., losing his wife along the way and having his kids taken from him once he makes it to this country. Springsteen couldn’t have penned a better track.

John B. Moore has been covering the seemingly disparate, but surprisingly complementary genres of Americana and punk rock for the past 20 years.

Blurt/New Noise Magazine/InSite Atlanta/NeuFutur Magazine

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