After a four-year hiatus, JP Harris returns with a new album, Sometimes Dogs Bark at Nothing, to remind folks what a lifetime dedicated to country music looks and sounds like. Sure to please fans of his hardscrabble earlier work, this new collection of songs finds the acclaimed songwriter and vocalist stretching himself both musically and personally...

For those not familiar with JP Harris's output, and not overly fond of Country music there's little here that will make you want to add this to your collection. To the uninitiated Sometimes Dogs Bark at Nothing may sounds like a spoof album, packed full of country cliches - the sort of music you'd expect them to lap up at a red neck bar. Yes. It's sad, but true, that traditional country music is synonymous with slack-jawed yokels, thanks to the lazy media.

Those that can see past this will, if they're not already fans of Harris, discover that the music and lyrics while at first may appear well worn and cliched, are actually solid modern tracks that pay homage to true origins of the genre. This feels more like a live album, with the raw energy beautifully captured.

Fans of the genre will totally love what Harris delivers here.

7

Nick Smithson