Songs of loss, self-pity and bitter criticism.  James McMurtry reaches deep down to relive his life experiences with The Black Dog & The Wandering Boy, his first album in four years.

Release Date:  20^th June 2025

Label: New West Records

Formats: CD / Vinyl / Digital

THE TRUEST, FIERCEST SONGWRITER OF HIS GENERATION

It’s been four years since we last heard from James McMurtry; four years since his acclaimed 2021 album, the Horses and the Hounds prompted Stephen King to describe the Texan as ”…the truest, fiercest songwriter of his generation.”  And, happily, the fire and honesty that pervades McMurtry’s work shows no sign of cooling or compromise in the ten songs that comprise his new offering, The Black Dog & the Wandering Boy.

No subject is off-limits, and no form of expression is too extreme for James McMurtry as he tackles a range of subjects that include opioid addiction, the frustration of ageing, the 9/11 hijackings, loss, dysfunctionality and the Trump-voting mentality. He conveys those messages in such an engaging way, as he wraps his words in gritty Americana and instrumental arrangements that draft in dobro, cello, organ and harmonica to add an appropriate gravitas whenever it’s needed.

THERE’S A STORY BEHIND THE TITLE…

James – and co-producer Don Dixon – haven’t been afraid to bring in some high-powered assistance, either, with guest artists like Sarah Jarosz, Charlie Sexton, Bonnie Whitmore and Bukka Allen all making appearances alongside James’s trusted backing band – BettySoo (accordion and backing vocals), Cornhead (bass), Tom Holt (guitar) and Daren Hess (drums).

And, in case you’re wondering about the album’s title, well: there’s a story there, as James explains: “The album title comes from my stepmother, Faye.  After my dad [writer Larry McMurtry] passed, she asked me if he ever talked to me about his hallucinations.  He’d gone into dementia for a while before he died but hadn’t mentioned to me anything about seeing things.  She told me his favourite hallucinations were the black dog and the wandering boy.  I took them and applied them to a fictional character.”

…AND BEHIND THE ARTWORK

When there’s a story like that one behind your album’s title, you need some equally interesting cover art to go with it, and James had just the thing in mind.  Once the album had been mixed and mastered, James recalled a pencil sketch that he had discovered a few years earlier in his father’s effects.  “I knew that sketch was of me,” he says, “but I didn’t realise who drew it.  I asked my mom and my stepdad and, finally, asked my stepmom, Faye, who said it looked like Ken Kesey’s work back in the 60s.  She was married to Ken for ten years.”  Ken Kesey was, of course, the organiser of The Merry Pranksters, the roving band of hippie activists and was the author of One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest.  As James points out: “It’s a fitting image for an album that scavenges personal history for inspiration.”

AN OPENING BOOKEND

The Black Dog & The Wandering Boy consists principally of James McMurtry’s own compositions, but it’s bookended by a pair of appropriately selected covers.  Opening track Laredo (Small dark Something), written by fellow Texan Jon Dee Graham is described as “…an opioid blues and testimony from a part-time junkie losing a weekend to dope.”  It’s a sizzling, gritty rocker and James’s measured vocal sits in sharp contrast to the down ‘n’ dirty guitars and howling harp as he concludes his tale: “We shot dope till… the money ran out.”

James tells the story of a bigamous, paperwork-loathing, alcoholic, world-weary officer of the law in the excellent South Texas Lawman, an early album highlight.  James’s resigned vocal tones are the perfect match for the despairing lyrics.  The pared-back accompaniment of guitar, bass and drums is suitably sleazy as James bemoans the passage of time, saying: “I used to be young, I used to understand, I used to be strong as any man” and “I can’t stand getting old – it don’t fit me.”

PINOCCHIO, HIJACKINGS AND HALLUCINATIONS

I like the dobro/cello backing to Pinocchio in Vegas, and “Pinocchio’s in Vegas with his eye on the prize; he’s a real boy now – his dick grows when he lies” is an opening line to take anyone’s breath away!  And that’s only the start of the story; Pinocchio goes on to sue the Disney Corporation and “…learns to be an asshole, just like everybody else” in a song that is hilarious and sad in equal parts.

James’s strummed acoustic guitar and lazy southern vocals are joined by a plucked banjo and a string arrangement for the gently harrowing Annie, a song that references the 9/11 hijackings, before James moves on to recount that story inspired by his father’s hallucinations on the album’s title track.  The song’s lyrics namecheck a “Weird Al” deep cut and depict “…a tortured soul who doesn’t have to work nine-to-five” on a song that’s anthemic, bluesy and dirty.  Vibrant guitar and bluesy harp add a sharp edge, as James admits that he’ll miss the dog and the boy when they go away, as “…they’re such a part of me, now.”

PRODUCTS OF GENOCIDE

Back to Coeur d’Alene is another gritty offering, with James’s lyrics underpinned, this time, by bluesy organ, before James pick up his dobro for Sons of the Second Sons, perhaps the album’s most bitingly direct song.  “Sons of the second sons, products of genocide.  Polishing up our guns, living in double-wides,” sings James, as he gets inside the heads of Trump-supporting America and attempts to make sense of it all.

Twangy guitars lend a country feel to Sailing Away. A song with a soaring chorus of self-pity: “Sailing Away, feeling dated – and I’m not OK,” before James signs off with the album’s second cover – a blistering version of Kris Kristofferson’s Broken Freedom Song.  It’s an inspired choice. A song that matches the mood and theme of the album perfectly.  James and his band do the song full justice and there’s no doubting James’s sincerity as he delivers the payoff line: “…ain’t no fun to sing that song no more.”

AMERICANA – WITHOUT ADDED SWEETENERS

The Black Dog & The Wandering Boy is an excellent album.  It serves up Americana without any added sweeteners; and that’s just the way that some of us like it!

Listen to the official audio of The Black Dog & the Wandering Boy – the album’s title track – below:

James McMurtry online: Official Website / Facebook / Instagram / TikTok / YouTube / Bandcamp

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