Review by Country People Magazine's Duncan Warwick It's almost unbelievable to me that this is album number twenty from "the Most Trusted name in Show-Biz", and Hurd has adopted Super Bowl-style Roman numerals for the title. You used to be able to set your clock by a CHB release; there would be one every year at SXSW time. More recently the release schedule has changed, the band may have evolved a little, and there are fewer obvious songs about Cornell's 'miserable ex-wife', but there is no mistaking a CHB record. At first I thought XX was a little subdued compared to other albums from the band. No quirky cheesy Broadway covers, no interjections, no guest stars, and I was really missing the obvious 'miserable ex-wife' songs laced with venom. However, while it might be slightly less in-your-face than some of Hurd's earlier work I can't remember 42 minutes ever passing so quickly. By the second spin I realised that each of these songs - all originals by Hurd and/or Allen Crider - was already like an old friend. In fact, these may be some of his best work, with his many influences on display and an even greater talent for a melody. My Baby's A Lot Like Brown Sugar ("she's so sweet and so unrefined" - brilliant!) had Louis Prima all over it, while the instrumental When You Smile is so strong melodically, at no point did I wish there were lyrics. It could have come straight from a Shelley Fabares movie. Cornell states that these are, "Songs about romantic failure, alcoholism, hope, gratitude and Texas," but it is romantic failure I like the most. The Company Of Strangers and A Hard Act To Follow are typical CHB shuffles, which is to say that they will be filling Austin dance floors as I write. There are elements of the good side of 60s pop in several tracks, small doses of surf-inspired twang, and saxophones, but always with enough steel and fiddle to ensure it couldn't be mistaken for anything but a country record - The One You Still Love being a prime example. It could almost have been a Gene Pitney song. I absolutely loved While The Band Plays Every Time We Say Goodbye. With shades of Gary US Bonds about it, it might well be one of Hurd's best ever songs, and Cemetery Road sounds as if should be the theme song to a True Blood spin-off. Twenty albums is quite a catalogue of work. If you've ever seen them live on a visit to Austin, or have ever bought one of their records you'll have a good idea of what to expect and you won't be disappointed. This is one of those albums I've kept playing from start to finish, but I'd swear it gets shorter every time. Duncan Warwick.