The Hard Working Americans have a lot to live up to, thanks to their impressive collective musical pedigree. Fortunately for listeners, they manage to exceed expectiations on their second album, Rest In Chaos.

Forming in 2013, the HMA are all seasoned veterans of the jam scene, with singer-songwriter Todd Snider and Chad Staehly of Great American Taxi, Neal Casal of Chris Robinson Brotherhood, multi-instrumentalist Jesse Aycock alongside Dave Schools and Duane Trucks of Widespread Panic. The all-star lineup joined forces and have showed a remarkable cohesion, especially for a band that plays rarely gets to play together. It’s obvious that, after decades with their regular bands, the musicians are able to react with incredible dexterity.

For their first studio album, the band relied on cover songs, letting their interpretations of the work of others help them define their identity. On their second release, HWA is ready to take their sound and say something of their own. The strengths of the most upfront players, Snider and Casal, compliment each other well. Casal’s years of working alongside Chris Robinson have honed his talents for boiling down his musical expressions to their most minimal, while Snider has made a career out of wry verbosity. Schools and Trucks have clearly bonded over their relatively short time on the skins for Panic, as they are well beyond any “getting-to-know-each-other” stage and create a tight rhythm section. Using vibrant organ fills, long deep chords and even sweet straight ivory tickling, Staehly acts as a dash of seasoning to an already flavorful stew.

You can stream Rest In Chaos, below.

 

The powerful first tune, the aptly named “Opening Statement,” has the band’s strengths on full display from the first reverb drenched guitar notes. Snider brings his trademark crafty wordsmith skills into play, delivering a melancholy observation on inevitability that is powerfully complimented by mournful fretwork by Casal. Songs like “It Runs Forever” and “Half Ass Moses” are wildly different in terms of tone, but like most of the material on Rest In Chaos, Snider and Casal’s work holds the disparate material together with an engaging sense of style. Casal’s slidework is exceptionally noteworthy on songs like “Roman Candles” and “Ascending Into Madness,” showcasing his deft touch, never overusing it but dropping in repeated, beautifully expressive passages.

Late in the game, “Massacre” shows the HWA boys are more than capable of crafting a solid love song, aptly describing what love can do to one’s world view.  There’s only one non-HWA penned song on the disc, “The High Price Of Inspiration,” written by the recently passed Guy Clark. Snider shows a power and depth on his reading of Clark’s lyrics that is gripping and aching all at once. On the penultimate tune, “Acid,” the band pays homage to the swirling psychedelic music and bands of the sixties with such gusto. They close out the album with a rocker called “Purple Mountain Jamboree;” a wise choice, sending listeners out into the world with a toe tapper ensures smiles after finishing the disc.

The Hard Working Americans present a strong statement about, not just their viability as a band, but also for the need for much more material from this configuration in the future. With Widespread Panic slowing down next year, perhaps we’ll see more Hard Working Americans? After listening to Rest In Chaos, it’s safe to say that would not be a bad thing. You can find the album here.