No need to introduce these two big names of Americana anymore. Californian Dave Alvin, former member of the Blasters, and Texan Jimmie Dale Gilmore, former member of the Flatlanders, join forces on Downey To Lubbock released with Yep Roc. With their now graying hair, the two troubadours have chosen the names of the cities at the origin of their first steps on the music scene. Who would have thought that the Californian beaches would mingle so well with the Texan dry stretches of land? Despite their differences, Alvin and Gilmore managed to find some common ground and an indisputable complicity that can be felt throughout the disc. Dave Alvin has composed the eponymous title Downey To Lubbock, in which he introduces his partner and they describe their years on the road. The ups and downs, the attachment to their country, their fuel-soaked dreams, without forgetting the music. An electric guitar solo, verses lightened by harmonica notes from which surges an electrifying blues: the tone is set. Mainly composed of covers, Alvin and Gilmore didn’t neglect their selection. From Neil Young’s ballad Silverlake to William Shade’s banjo, Lightning Hopkins, Woody Guthrie and folk songs, they have set the bar very high. The whole is rich in sounds and Gilmore’s inimitable trembling voice perfectly contrasts Alvin’s much warmer one. Two worlds fuse and they amuse themselves by crossing the time periods, without forgetting their friends. For their cover of Tex-Mex title The Gardens composed by Chris Gaffney, the Californian pays homage to the man who has left us too soon. But it’s probably on the duo Billy The Kid And Geronimo that they are the most striking. Through a fiction staging the meeting of two violent American fugitives, Alvin and Gilmore trade verses at the pace of a ballad full of sympathy. From these old hands come undeniable strength, a moving and sincere album inspiring respect for American music. © Clara Bismuth/Qobuz