Album Review – Wesley Hanna’s “Brand New Love Potion”

There are few things better for resetting your mood and decompressing than a drive through rural Texas. But if you live 1,000 miles away and any road trip for you these days means wrangling two kids fighting over one iPad in the back seat, the next best thing might be spinning Wesley Hannah’s new album Brand New Love Potion. It may not have any of the sights, but most certainly captures all the sounds of rural Texas as an unflinchingly traditional country record with songs that take you from dot to dot on the Texas music map, feeding your imagination with the stories, and your soul with its sounds.
Country music at its most elemental roots exists on back porches, at county dance halls, and in local honky tonks, with the same folks you live and work with comprising the entertainment. Even when country music makes it to the arena level, the best of it always captures that intimate and local feeling. As an engineer in the oil and gas industry, Wesley Hanna has to scratch and claw to find the time to write, sing, and perform these days. Perhaps it’s more precious to him because of that, and the passion he has for the music comes through in the 10 songs of this album.
A query to Saving Country Music headquarters from Wesley Hanna presented himself more as a songwriter than anything. But what immediately smacks you right across the face like a wet fish is Hannah’s stellar singing voice, which was tooled by the country music Gods to render good country music in the old school Texas style. The warbles, moans, and twang are all here, while a spirited steel guitar adds just the right accompaniment for songs about soured relationships and Texas road trips. Along with being like a travelogue, this album proves few write and sing a good heartbreak song like Wesley Hanna.
This is one of those albums where some of the songs are so good, you would swear they must be covers. The opening title track sells you on Wesley Hannah within the first 15 seconds. “Back to the Honky Tonks” is an idea that’s been done in a dozen country songs before, but perhaps nobody has done it better than Hannah does here. “Texas Road Trip” and “Concho Pearl” are perfect examples of how to use geography in songwriting to favorable results. And “The Waltz” is just a stellar country song, plain and simple.

Maybe the quality of the songs starts to give out a little bit towards the end of this album. “Gulf Coast Moon” leans a little too Kenny Chesney for what works for Wesley Hanna, and the more Outlaw approach to “Creek Don’t Rise” also doesn’t compliment Hanna’s voice and writing as well as the more traditional-sounding songs. But the album ends on a high note, with the super traditional and true-to-life “Well Digger’s Lament” ripped straight from the pages of Wesley Hannah’s life story.
Originally from the small east Texas town of Magnolia, Wesley Hanna started playing guitar at 17, and like Robert Earl Keen and Lyle Lovett before him, began playing country music while attending Texas A&M University. He formed a band and recorded an album, but come graduation time, it all dissolved. Now he’s just trying to fit making a little country music between his full-time commitments working on oil wells.
Brand New Love Potion is anything but amateur though. Well-written, sung, produced and performed, this local guy now living in Fort Worth deserves national attention for a great country music effort superior to many of the full-time national names packing out arenas.
1 3/4 Guns Up (8/10)
November 2, 2022 @ 10:38 am
As someone trying to do the same thing, having a crazy busy day job while trying to write, record, and perform, I wish this guy all the luck in the world. It’s really hard to chase the dream when you’ve got a really good paying day job and a family to take care of. Some great songs on here!
November 2, 2022 @ 10:43 am
This is why I enjoy reading Saving Country Music, introducing this New Englander to hard to find acts and music I would never have heard or known about.
Sounds great!
November 2, 2022 @ 11:35 am
this is why i come here – thanks for the review and the heads-up, Trigger
November 2, 2022 @ 12:08 pm
I hear Clint Black. A very bold voice. I like it, but don’t see it translating to the masses.
November 2, 2022 @ 12:14 pm
Same as the others: thank you, and keep up the good reviews, Trigger. It’s always nice to discover good new artists through your articles.
November 2, 2022 @ 3:24 pm
Brings to mind Mike Henderson of “Hillbilly Jitters.” and “Country Music Made Me Do It.”
Henderson was an energetic singer and guitar player whose singles didn’t do much on country radio. But his song “The Restless Kind” became the title song of a CD and a top-10 single for Travis Tritt. Henderson also co-wrote “Broken Halos” with Chris Stapleton, who had a #1 hit with it.
November 2, 2022 @ 3:58 pm
I love the Shiner label album art!
Good tunes too. I can get some mileage out of this one.
I love Texas geography tunes.
November 2, 2022 @ 6:23 pm
Not to steal anyone’s thunder but I ran across this guy on face book
he’s really good at covers
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rAKfCMSvuwA
November 2, 2022 @ 6:29 pm
can somebody hook me up
November 2, 2022 @ 6:42 pm
Listened to the album twice today and had this Mike & the Moonpies vibe on a couple of songs. Not sure if his voice sounded like him a couple times or it sounded like Mike would sing these songs. Weird but interesting….
November 2, 2022 @ 7:06 pm
Listening to it now, really like what I hear. Looks like his website has CDs for sale.
November 3, 2022 @ 8:32 am
If there are CDs, they’re very well hidden.
Under “Music,” the website lists
SPOTIFY/ APPLE MUSIC/ SOUNDCLOUD/ YOUTUBE CHANNEL.
And under “Merchandise,” it’s all hats and shirts.
November 3, 2022 @ 5:14 pm
It was under the Shop all tab, here is the link. Trigger, please remove it this isn’t allowed.
https://wesley-hanna-music.square.site/s/shop
November 3, 2022 @ 2:26 am
Good country voice, and the music on the two songs here is giving me Hank Williams, Sr. vibes, and of course, that’s a very good thing! I’ll be listening to more of this album and probably buying it!
November 8, 2022 @ 6:45 pm
Just bought the CD and a T-shirt! It’s too bad that Wesley can’t currently do his music as a full-time thing, but I get that it’s tough for new, traditional country artists out there. I certainly want to do my part in helping the full-time music thing to become more of a possibility for him though. If he ever plays in my area, I’ll do all I can to be there!
November 3, 2022 @ 6:25 am
Sounds good. Gonna have to give the rest of the album a listen. Thanks.
November 3, 2022 @ 10:56 am
This is an album I can enjoy putting on repeat for two or three passes. Definitely on my buy list.
On tour, I think he’d be a heck of a one-two punch with the Moonpies, or a great more traditional counterweight to Randy Rogers or a Rogers/Bowen show.
November 3, 2022 @ 9:42 pm
this dude is phenomenal! thanks for tipping me off to this one, Trig ????
December 14, 2022 @ 8:01 pm
just great music …
never would have heard of him without this site