Big Station

AlbumJun 05 / 201212 songs, 47m 9s79%
Americana Singer-Songwriter Alt-Country
Noteable

*Big Station* arrives with a crash, as wailing Chuck Berry-esque guitar drives the listener into punky blues territory filled with handclaps and shouts of \"oh yeah!\" on “Man of the World.” Escovedo’s masterful songwriting and ambitious sound combine for this album, which marries poignant narratives like “Sally Was a Cop” with shadowy rhythms and powerful horns. “Party People” grooves with a bounce between its New Wave-y chorus and blues riffs, and the Spanish cover “Sabor a Mi” ends things on a gorgeous, wistful note.

C

Over more than 35 years of touring and recording, Alejandro Escovedo has played punk, rock, folk, country, and Latin music. But no matter the style, Escovedo’s songs tend to default to a dreamy drone. Sometimes Escovedo plays loud, with wildly reverberating guitar and rattling drums; sometimes he’s more muted,…

9.0 / 10

With a brazen swagger drawn from Alejandro Escovedo's punk roots, the 61-year-old songwriter/yowler declares, "I can take a punch, I can take a swing…" on Big Station 's opening "Man of the World"—suggesting his 12th studio release is an action record. Over a dozen songs, the Rank and File founder never disappoints.

Check out our album review of Artist's Big Stage on Rolling Stone.com.

Big Station is songwriter Alejandro Escovedo's 11th album, and his third consecutive collaboration with producer Tony Visconti.

6 / 10

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