A mid-week treat.
J.R. Carroll does not miss. A month after the release of his quick-paced twanger “Diamondhead,” Carroll drops a track EP, Live From Jean Pump.
While the title of the EP alludes to the whole EP being live, that’s not the case until the final track. The EP houses two new songs along with a live studio performance of his 2020 song “Rocky Road.”
The track of the EP gives a nod to the Jean Pump recording studio in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the same studio was where Carroll recorded his first EP, Long Story Short. Since the release of that EP in 2020, Carroll’s life has changed drastically. From being the man behind the keys on the road with Zach Bryan, gaining a following of his own, and performing solo shows, he has made his name well-known.
The return to the studio for this EP takes listeners back to the roots of the sound that made us all fall in love with Carroll. From candid songwriting to well thought out musical compositions, every piece of music that Carroll releases is masterfully done.
The first track, “Bandit,” fills all of your steel guitar wants and needs. Fans of Carroll first heard the track when he sang it as a part of his OurVinyl Session.
The studio version highlights a much different sound from the acoustic track than what we heard during OurVinyl, but its heightened composition allows the track to blend in effortlessly with the rest of the tracks on the EP.
The second new song we get is “Fear and Loathing,” and wow… this is an early favorite. I had it on repeat throughout bringing this blog to life, and each time I listened, a new verse caught my ear. The acoustic ballad lets you hone in on Carroll’s masterful songwriting as he shares a story of trying to make it when being from a small town.
“And if folks keep listening
to these songs that I’ve written
I reckon I can do it all for free
I don’t want your money
I don’t want your name
and I don’t really care who you know
I’ll be in Oklahoma,
just fighting fear and loathing
living where the normal people go…”
This project is killer.. if you aren’t blasting this today, you need to change that ASAP.
“Rocky Ford (Live In Studio)”
