Motel Breakfast
Self-Released, 2024
9/10
An excellent follow up to his 2021 effort that cracked the Top 40 Americana charts, Mac Leaphart returns with his exciting brand of roots rock that seems tailor made for roadhouses and dive bars.
The energetic “Rock & Roll Hey” starts the listen with Fats Kaplan’s frisky fiddle and Matt Menefee’s pretty mandolin complementing Leaphart’s warm voice, and “Walking Slow Down A Busy Street” follows with a calmer and stylish mood that benefits from Ben Chapman’s distinct voice and spirited electric guitar.
Moving into the middle, “Girl From Tuscaloosa” welcomes Kaplin’s glowing pedal steel and Menefee’s swirling banjo for the rootsy flavor, while “Ain’t No Pistol” comes with melodic and rugged gestures via Glen Martin’s fluid bass and Logan Todd’s crisp drumming.
Landing near the end, the intimate “Belly Full Of Peaches” is just Leaphart’s cozy voice, guitar and soulful backing vocals, and the title track exits with Tom Reschke’s soft drums and Brad Jones’ gentle bass suiting the poetic singing.
A record that only a road warrior like Leaphart could pen, there’s plenty of honky-tonk, folk, country and rock’n’roll to absorb here, and the storytelling draws us in immediately, too.
Travels well with: Mac Leaphart- Music City Joke; Jared Deck- Head Above Water