(The Orchard) Eleven Hundred Springs was formed from the remnants of Dallas rockabilly band Lone Star Trio in 1998, and is made up of founding members Matt Hillyer (lead vocalist, guitar, primary songwriter) and Steve Berg (upright bass, harmony vocals), along with Chris Claridy (lead guitar, harmony vocals), Aaron Wynne (pedal steel) and Bruce Alford (drums). Bruce has since been replaced by drummer Mark Reznicek. Their sound is Texas music, deeply rooted in traditional 'old school' country. They released their first album, Welcome To Eleven Hundred Springs in 1999, followed by Live At Adair's, No Stranger To The Blues, and in 2001 released an acclaimed all acoustic album, A Straigher Line.

For their 5th release, Eleven Hundred Springs teams with Bruce Alford's former Vibrolux bandmate, vocalist Kim Pendleton for an EP of duets titled Broken Dreams. Broken Dreams picks up where A Straighter Line left off, that found the band's sound at it's most traditional. Matt is an outstanding songwriter, and here he delivers four more strong original songs, and the disc also includes one cover. Kim is a knockout vocalist, her sultry vocals an excellent balance to Matt's pleasant, earnest twang and they alternate between trading verses and intertwining their voices.

The disc opens with stone country, old timey toe-tapper "Depend On You." They shift gears a bit and next deliver the mid-tempo "Just You And Me" with a bluesy sultriness. The haunting title track "Broken Dreams," is an outstanding mid-tempo Bakersfield tinged tale of heartache. Another delight, "We Don't Need To Belong" is a retro-torchy slow shuffle that again, features some wonderfully sultry vocals. Broken Dreams closes out with the lone cover, a take on John Prine's witty tongue-in-cheek doper anthem, "Illegal Smile," and they deliver a great version right down to it's maddingly infectious sing-a-long chorus.

Every song on Broken Dreams is a real keeper, there's not a bad one in the bunch. Aaron's pedal steel is like honey poured over the music throughout the entire disc. Kim is a natural, her vocals blending so perfectly with Matt's. The only fault one can find with Broken Dreams is that they didn't record a full length album. Unfortunately, these five songs are over way too soon and leave the listener wanting for much more. 

www.elevenhundredsprings.com

Broken Dreams is available online through

www.texasmusicroundup.com

www.amazon.com

AnnMarie Harrington TakeCountryBack June 2003