Joe Teichman: “Backburner”

It’s hard to spot a breakout artist in the crowded field of modern young country-folk artists — it’s a genre that lends itself to humility and tradition, not “look at me!” audacity. But in his own subtle way, Austin’s Joe Teichman stands out straight away on his debut release. At a mere seven songs, Backburner could almost be called an EP; but despite its brevity it still satisfies like a full serving because of Teichman’s wordy but never tiresome knack for plumbing his own emotions and reflecting them in the details of his surroundings. It’s an old songwriting trick, but one that this young man has already got a helluva handle on with numbers like the earnest “Window” and the more playful “Isabella.” His sturdy voice, plain but pleasant, gives a rich internal life even beyond the catchy lyrics of songs like “Hourglass,” where a tough-guy putdown (“you’re gonna miss me …”) twists into a lovelorn admission (“… but the truth is, I’m gonna miss you more.”) It all feels familiar and relatable yet discernibly original, marking Teichman as a welcome tangent to the modern alt-country scene without necessarily sounding like anyone else.
— MIKE ETHAN MESSICK