Martin Flanagan, Beneath These Strings

He calls himself the illegitimate son of a legend, and just by the title of the track where he explains that story, “Hank’s Illegitimate Son,” you can probably figure out the rest. Lineage aside, Martin Flanagan writes songs in that identifiable classic country style—songs about drowning your sorrows on a barstool and the memories of screen doors and Momma’s cooking. His voice is gravely and twang-y, and has the most impact in the lower register, but sometimes lacks enough character to make a few takes seem more than casual read-throughs. Still, the stories he weaves can be surprisingly touching, like in the title track, where he lists off the memories that emerge when he reaches for his guitar, or crassly funny, like “Walter—The Walking Accident.” There is an easy pace to the songs, even those in the minor key, and Flanagan’s acoustic guitar blends in nicely with the banjo, bass and shuffling drums. His backing band is about as good as it gets and features Grammy-winning producer Lloyd Maines playing pedal steel and dobro on a few tracks. With this being his first release at the age of 61, it’s clear Flanagan has stories he finally wants to tell. And as long as he keeps reaching for the guitar, he may become a legend too.