Just like Moby Dick

"With a career that dates back more than 40 years, he's established himself as an iconic artist whose work entails a fine Texas tradition, one made famous by such peers as Butch Hancock, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Robert Earl Keen, Guy Clark, Townes Van Zandt, and other individuals whose wry wit and keen sense of observation reflect a sound and sensibility informed by both insight and intelligence ... The music resonates as well, from heart-worn narratives ("Houdini Didn't Like the Spiritualists"), dusty south-of-the border serenades ("Death of the Last Stripper") and mournful laments ("All That's Left Is Fare-Thee-Well"), to more didactic diatribes ("American Childhood/Civil Defense"), a carnival-like flourish ("City of the Vampires") and funky, freewheeling grooves ("Abandonitis") ... Just Like Moby Dick becomes nothing less than a spectacle all its own ... With this exceptional album, Terry Allen has reestablished the fact that he is indeed an artist of significant consequence, and one of the most formidable figures making music today".

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"On (...) his first collection of original songs since 2013, Allen evolves, bringing new musicians and singers into the fold to create an album whose strongest moments result from its collaborations. Together, they take what would be just another great, narrative album set to the familiar rhythms of a country waltz and bring it to new places ... at a time when crisis mode feels like the new normal, Just Like Moby Dick is worthy of an earnest listen. Perhaps the serene perspective Allen embodies is only available to those - like fellow songwriters Randy Newman and John Prine - who have lived long enough to witness tragedy become comedy".

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