On “Whiskey Hell Bent Angels,” Jutt Huffman sways onward with grit and abandon, officially sharing a country single as a wild-eyed and awesomely full-time touring musician. It’s an unrefined, jumble of faith, heartbreak, loneliness, and temptation.
The song was Huffman’s own composition and production, recorded at Saxman Studios, just outside Nashville, and will appear on a double album featuring all self-written, self-produced songs. That independence lends the record a real feeling. “Whiskey Hell Bent Angels” is about the battle between faith and pleasure, of being alone but running away without ever stopping to think. It is evidence of what life on the road is really like, where bright lights so often hide dark things.
The accompanying music video, directed by Rick Trace, ties into it and further develops the story. It shows Huffman barreling down a downtown Nashville street, carrying a bottle of whiskey. The visuals are compelling, cinematic even, and depict the temptations that present themselves along the way.
The song is country storytelling with an edge, and the performance is authentic, as if these are not just scenes made up but ones that have actually happened. Jutt Huffman proves he is an artist not afraid to express the good and the bad in this release. “Whiskey Hell Bent Angels” is honest, scarred country music, and that’s where its strength lies.
