Single Review: “I Could Get Used To This” Tim Raybon

In his new studio album with his eponymous band, titled I Could Get Used To This, Tim Raybon is determined to revisit the basic ideals that made bluegrass great in the first place. Right out of the gate in “Leaving Cleveland,” there’s a feeling that we’re listening to something really special, as everything from the beefy groove to the swarthy string play builds tension for what’s soon to come next. Through the next nine songs, Raybon is a force to be reckoned with whether experimenting with pastoral substances in “That Reunion” or grinding out beats in “Ilene Baker,” never flinching in his quest for great harmonies. 

The lead single “Can’t Get Away From this Broken Heart” and “Before I Told Mama and Daddy Goodbye” are both a little more avant-garde themed than “Nothing So Blue,” the previously mentioned “That Reunion” or “Headed Back to Tulsa” are, but the shared post-country aesthetic between these songs binds all of the material here together. There’s a jagged edge to every melody in this record, but I don’t think they were made rough with the intention of repelling occasional country fans at all. Raybon isn’t putting on a front for us in I Could Get Used To This; conversely, he’s being as raw and real as one can be within four studio walls. 

I Could Get Used To This has got some of the sweetest rhythms I’ve listened to in the past couple of months, but none of these tracks sound as though they were specifically designed for the dancehall (or the radio, for that matter). The churning “Sally Johnson” and faster-paced “Leaving Cleveland” could turn up the heat for anyone looking to synchronize their bodies to some countrified grooves, and even though “Nothing So Blue” is slightly folk-toned, it has as much punch as any song here does. This is a pretty balanced LP, which isn’t something I’ve been able to say about a lot of indie records this summer. 

The tracklist here feels even more eclectic and enticing on shuffle than it does when played straight through, but this doesn’t diminish the progressive tendencies in the songwriting at all. There’s not a doubt in my mind that Raybon was trying to construct something very conceptual in I Could Get Used To This, but he wasn’t pretentious in his handiwork. The narrative in “Can’t Get Away From This Broken Heart” has a loose end that fits into the suggested void of “I Could Get Used to This” just as “Leaving Cleveland” lends value to the understated verses of “Before I Told Mama and Daddy Goodbye,” making every track here essential to understanding Tim Raybon’s artistry. 

Those who have never heard the work of Tim Raybon Band before needn’t feel intimidated by the thought of picking up I Could Get Used To This this month; this is fine from any angle in my book. Raybon has been in the game for a minute now, but here, he sounds as wide-eyed and excited by the medium as he did in his rookie release. He’s come a long way in a short time, and his knowledge is artfully displayed in all ten songs on this LP. 

Loren Sperry