Zach Aaron plays American music. Pretty much everyone who writes about him compares him to Woody Guthrie, and that's fair (to both Aaron and Guthrie). And while Aaron's lyrics spin wry and eloquent tales of forgotten people, he infuses his music with some of the finest string-picking (on a variety of instruments) that I've heard in a while.

Zach Aaron Fill Dirt Wanted (self-released)

"Dayton Train" features a bluegrass mandolin, but without the harmonies to really make the style. "Southeast Texas Trinity River Bottom Blues" is about as Hank as one can get, with some wonderful banjo striding along with the talking blues. "Potato Salad" has some fine guitar rambling along with its Guthrie/Dylan style of observation.

That's just for starters. Aaron wears his influences on his sleeve, but his songwriting is all his own. He's got a lot to say and a unique way of saying it. His musical adaptivity (and adeptness) is just a bonus--but that music would make this album impressive even if Aaron's lyrics and delivery were more pedestrian.

This is a striking album that has a whole lot to say to a nation that feels like it might be teetering on the edge of another Dust Bowl. "We the people" has come to be perceived as a joke across the land. Aaron is doing his best to make sure that the union holds. This one's a real gobsmacker.

Jon Worley