The Western Tragedy is the newest album by Kenny Feidler. With eight amazing songs, there is something on here for everyone. I had the pleasure of getting to listen to this album early, and I instantly loved it, which, if you’re familiar with Kenny’s music, you know he doesn’t miss when it comes to putting out great music. So let’s jump into this.

The first song on the album is “Choking on the Wire.” From the start, you got this cool twenty-second guitar intro followed by the drums. Then Kenny comes in and starts singing. I love this song being the one to start off the album. I think if you’re someone who sits and listens to an album front to back, this is a song that really grabs your attention from the get-go because you don’t know what you’re getting into. The guitar at the beginning gives you one idea, then when Kenny starts singing and the rest of the band joins in, you get hit with something different from what you originally thought. Now, this song is pretty rock-heavy, like most of Kenny’s music is. This one particularly really has that western rock n roll sound, as Kenny calls it, and like I said, I think it’s a great way to start off the album. One line that really grabs my attention is at the end of the chorus: “God ain’t here and hell ain’t down below, no, God ain’t here and hell is all we know.” Something about the way the music is mixed with Kenny’s voice at the end of the song hits hard and really caught my ear at the end.

Next up, we got “The Coyotes.” Now, this one is a slower song than the previous one at the beginning, but about the minute-fifty mark (it’s a five-minute song), it picks up a little. One reason I love this song is I think Kenny really shows off his range with his voice, and the way he does it at the two-twenty mark is awesome. You have him singing softer at the beginning, and thirty seconds after the music picks up, you get hit with power from his voice and the music picking up even more. From there, the song just keeps getting better. This song not only shows off Kenny’s vocal range but also the band’s talent. I mean, honestly, the band is insanely talented. Along with that, you also get a good picture of Kenny’s talented writing. Now, I imagine trying to figure out song order is difficult for an album, but I think Kenny does it well. The first song grabs you, and the second, I think, shows off how talented Kenny and his band are together. For my favorite line from this one, I’d have to go with the line, “You’ll still be here when they’re gone.” It hits me in a weird way, and I like how after that line, you get this break that, if you aren’t paying attention to the time of the song, you’d think it’s the end. But then that minute-fifty part hits, and you get hit out of nowhere with the rest of the song, and I really like that part of the song as a whole.

Third on the list is “K.O.W.,” standing for “King of Wyoming.” Now, this one I think the fans will really eat up, because something about Kenny’s voice on this one gives you a familiar feeling to his previous albums. Maybe that’s just me, but with this album, I feel like you get a different feel with his voice, but this one reminds me of the previous albums. Besides that, it’s another one of those slow songs where the lyrics are front and center and the instrumental is softer, but I think it needs to be for this one. I went and looked up this one when it first came out and came to find it’s a song written about Kenny watching someone he knows go through and navigate sobriety. I think the song really highlights that with the lyrics. If you sit back and listen, you can start to picture it all, especially if you’re someone who’s witnessed someone get sober and go through the process of trying to get there or gone through it yourself. I think the line, “There’s a young man trying not to suffocate, looking hard into the mirror, sealing up his fate,” really shows what I’ve been saying about this song being one about sobriety and getting there.

Next up, we got “The Vultures.” I personally really like this one. It’s pretty rock-heavy, and there’s no slow buildup on this one, it’s straight up from the start, though the first thirteen to fourteen seconds do have this kind of roll-up, I guess you could call it, where the drums and either the bass or one of the electric guitars are doing this steady-tempo melody thing (I don’t know what to call it). Then Kenny comes in and starts singing over it. At the forty-seven-second mark, the whole band comes in and delivers a badass song with a great sound. I don’t know how to explain it, but this song really has an old-school rock n roll sound to it mixed with Kenny’s voice and lyricism. This is a powerful, rock-heavy song from start to finish.

I think on an album, if you have a rock-heavy song, it should be followed by a softer, slower song, and that’s what “Pinto” is. Now, this part of the album, I think, is a good example of Kenny and the band’s ability to switch it up on the sounds. You have a rock-heavy song followed by this soft, old western song with a slow melody on the electric guitar that offers up this beautiful sound. On the lyrical side, I feel like it’s about an old friend that’s passed on. I may be wrong, but after listening to this song multiple times, I feel like it’s almost telling part of someone’s life story. Maybe it’s a fictional character whose life has been made up from people Kenny knows, or maybe I’m right on it being about an old friend. One line in “Pinto” that really stuck out to me was the opening line: “It was hard living and hard country music back then.” It reminds me of talking about life and music with my grandpa, and maybe that is why I get what I do on the lyrical side. Overall, it’s a great song that I think was placed well in this album.

“Idaho Hippies” is next up on the list, and this one gives me a honky-tonk vibe that I really dig. I think Kenny and the band really did a good job with this song. Now, what I’m about to say I mean with no offense to Kenny or the band, but something about this song not only gives me a honky-tonk vibe but a Christmas vibe in a weird way. Find me in a dive bar mid-December, and I’m throwing this song on. The instrumental side of the song is still great nonetheless. I love the guitar riffs being played and the way the drums sound. Mixing it all together with the bass just hits in a weird and good way. It’s a fun song to me on both the instrumental and lyrical side. Instrumentally, it’s uplifting and makes me want to two-step, and on the lyrical side, it just makes you want to sing along. If you take away the chorus and just listen to the verses and think about living life the way Kenny sings about it, it seems simpler in a way and takes you to a different place. That’s not to take away from the chorus: “Hope those old Idaho hippies keep hanging on, there ain’t nobody else know the words to all my songs. They don’t party like they used to, and their hair’s always been long. Hope those old Idaho hippies keep hanging on, keep hanging on.” I love that chorus, the lyrics, the way Kenny sings it, the way the band plays it. I love it. Overall, I love this song. It just hits me in a weird way.

“The Bronc Fighter” is another song that I think fans will eat up, because I think if you are a fan of some of Kenny’s previous albums, this one gives you that same vibe as some of the bigger songs off of them. It’s another rock-heavy sounding song. There’s no slow buildup, just straight-up rock n roll off the bat that makes you want to headbang while Kenny is singing it. It’s an upbeat, fast-paced song that gets you going. It’s another song I think the rodeo crowd will really like, just because lyrically it’s talking about rodeo life and the struggles that come with it, at least that’s what I get from it. I personally really like the way Kenny sings this. It again reminds me of some of his previous songs. This song is one I can see being on an album like The Cowboy Killers. Something about it just reminds me of that album.

The last song on the album is “In the Blood – Acoustic,” which “In the Blood” is a single Kenny put out in May last year. That’s one thing I really enjoy about Kenny’s last two albums: there’s been re-recorded new versions of a song. I won’t talk as much about this one. I find it hard to find the words when it comes to re-records and even covers of songs, not because they are bad or anything, I just can never find the words. Now, I will say I love this. I love the stripped-down acoustic version of this song. It makes me want to drive back roads alone at night while listening to this. I personally like this version over the original, and I think it’s a great way to end the album.

The Western Tragedy is one of my favorite albums to release this year and is one of my favorite Kenny Feidler albums he’s ever put out. It keeps up his western rock n roll and original writing style that every album before it has had. I hope y’all enjoyed this review and hope y’all enjoy the album even more.

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