Review – Justin Payne’s “No Place Lower Than High”
From the fertile Outlaw country ground that comprises the hills and hollers of Boone County, West Virginia comes a homespun, but inspired and deftly-written insight into the American experience called No Place Lower Than High. Composed and performed by the virtual unknown singer and songwriter Justin Payne, this no budget project cut in a 100-year-old coal camp house is rough-hewn, scratchy, and sometimes hard to listen to through the production shortcomings. But hiding under all of the coal dust is a soul-bearing, bare-chested, and unfettered account of one man’s dreams and demons more than worthy of listening in on.
When I use the term “Outlaw” to describe Justin Payne, I mean the Merriam-Webster version, the Waylon Jennings circa 1974 version, with the half time bass beat holding everything together and the Telecaster phase guitar turned high. This album is Outlaw in every sense of the classic terminology, but it’s not just tone, bravado, and style like the stereotypical Waylon or Paycheck interpretation of Outlaw. This album has the Townes Van Zandt and Guy Clark legacy of the Outlaw era in it too with intense, weighty songwriting lurking within these tracks, and a troubadour’s heart hiding beneath Payne’s brambly exterior.
When it comes to the songwriting on No Place Lower Than High, Justin Payne measures high on all gradients. Vulnerable, honest, insightful, and personal, Payne aims right for the heart and sinks his lyrical dagger true. Justin doesn’t undertake in character generation on this album. This isn’t a work of folklore or fiction. Payne’s narratives are ripped right out of his own experiences in those Boone County hills, and the truth behind the words of these songs is what makes them so gripping.
What holds No Place Lower Than High back is simply the way it sounds in certain places. Though in the same regard, the style is one of the album’s strengths. Foggy, slightly muted, unmastered, and employing some very strange tones in places, especially in the drums that sound at times electronic (whether they are or not), this is the unfortunate assessment that will probably keep certain listeners at arm’s length. But generally, Justin has the arrangements and even the tones and styles spot on; it’s just the production level leaves a layer of film on the project that passive music fans might not be able to listen through. Conversely this haziness is also what makes the album sound classic and cool, and there’s a lot of accidental genius and endearing simplicity in the way this album was cut and glued together. A song like “The Fall” came out perfect, and would be criminal to tinker with.
Strip away all the music, and simply on paper this album has so many great compositions. “The Man I Should Be,” “The Fall,” “Life Is A Country Song,” “Papers,” “Sunday Song”—they just keep coming. The only song that seems unfortunate to have made the cut is “Your Kind.” Destined to be taken the wrong way by certain listeners, it falls into more of the stereotype of what one might expect from this album, instead of what one actually gets from the other nine songs. It’s just very divisive in its tone, where the rest of No Place Lower Than High barrels you over with the unexpected poetry and wisdom.
Justin Payne is no crooner, but similar to the production of the album, you root for him, and he surprises you with his vocal adroitness, and sense of timing and dynamics, making the most of his given attributes and authentic drawl.
It wouldn’t be fair to not dock No Place Lower Than High for the flaws of the project illuminated above, but you get the sense with this inaugural album that there is something very strong here, something extremely promising that just needs a little polishing, while at the same time, taking great care not to compromise what makes Justin Payne so cool and authentic, and greatly enjoying what he’s already done with this album.
No Place Lower Than High is a superb underground gem sifted out of a mess of coal rubble, in an era when such discoveries seem much too far between.
1 3/4 of 2 Guns Up.
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August 23, 2014 @ 8:47 am
Love this album, for a debut album it’s very strong. As he gets better with future records I feel like he could rank up there with other established bands like Eric Strickland & The B-Sides or even Whitey Morgan.
August 23, 2014 @ 11:54 am
Hey Trigger
Just curious, who do you think is the target of “Your Kind”? I can’t figure out if the song is just a pro rural redneck anthem, or if he’s preaching against a particular religious or political group.
August 23, 2014 @ 11:57 am
His mention of “signs”, and “sheep” made me think it was maybe an anti Westboro song.
August 24, 2014 @ 12:56 pm
Your guess is better than anything I could have thought of.
August 23, 2014 @ 12:38 pm
I really have no idea, and that ambiguity is one of the things that makes the song difficult because a lot of people can listen to it and think it’s about them.
I don’t want to obsess over the song though. I understand what Justin was trying to do, which is convey the distrust many of the people of West Virginia have to people from the outside because they have been exploited in that region so often. There may have just been a better way to do that.
August 23, 2014 @ 2:47 pm
He’s talking to tree hugging enviromental activist soldiers for our Presidents war against coal!
August 23, 2014 @ 6:52 pm
I would agree, especially considering his Bandcamp profile says that Mr. Payne was “raised, lives and works as a coalminer in Boone County, West Virginia.”
August 23, 2014 @ 10:22 pm
Oh ok, thanks. I get it now.
August 24, 2014 @ 2:07 pm
I think you hit the nail on the head.
I disagree with Trig, though, that this artist should not include a song setting forth his region’s contempt for forces which want to keep its citizens from making a living as they have for many decades.
I don’t think that an artist should muzzle himself or herself on matters with respect to which they are impassioned, even though they may trigger a negative response from some listeners.
I like Steve Earle a lot, but he doesn’t hesitate to wax political.
Same with Neil Young and Jackson Browne.
Bob Dylan emulated Woody Guthrie, who pretty much represented the Dust Bowl working man’s movement.
August 24, 2014 @ 2:57 pm
“I disagree with Trig, though, that this artist should not include a song setting forth his region”™s contempt for forces which want to keep its citizens from making a living as they have for many decades.”
That is not my issue. My issue is making a song that can be taken to mean many things. It could mean they don’t want minorities in the area. It could mean they don’t want Christians in the area. It could mean all manner of things because of its ambiguous nature. That is my concern with it, is that someone, who would otherwise enjoy Justin Payne, will read too much into it and pin something on him that is not true.
But again, I don’t want to make too much of the song like it somehow diminishes the entire effort. It’s just a song I would have approached differently.
August 24, 2014 @ 5:14 pm
This guy sounds like a particularly great talent – kind of like Sturgill – to me.
His coal mining background and day job give him a rather unique perspective.
The best thing about roots, folk, Americana and country music is the authenticity of its lyrics and the human emotion they convey.
This guy appears to be quite a lyricist, notwithstanding the ambiguity of the song you mention, although I think that Big K has discerned its meaning.
August 25, 2014 @ 9:02 am
Trig,
I think it is more of a compliment to this guys talent he can keep the song ambiguous. It probably would be easy and very elementary song writing to put out a song that is directed at say “environmentalists” or “fracking companies” or a religious/ethnic group. I’m sure Payne has a specific group he is singing to, but by letting off the throttle a bit and not targeting them, the song can be appreciated by far more folks. If some group thinks it is directed at them, then it probably is.
There are so many songs that call out a particular group and frankly, I think that can ruin songs when it is done. Songs lose creativity and cleverness when you simply say something like “Hey President, you’re taking our way of life, we don’t treat you and democrats very well around here.”
*** That is not me saying Payne was singing to them, but had he, the song would lose its appeal, in my opinion.
August 25, 2014 @ 8:41 am
I like the ambiguity of the song, however the emotion in his voice is definitely personal, so he connects it with non-ambiguous part of his life.
To me it was a bit of a darker version of the theme in “Poor Man’s Blues” (Jamey Johnson). Similar tone, feel, melody, but not just about a guy stealing a girl…which is the central theme in Poor Man’s Blues.
August 23, 2014 @ 1:42 pm
I am only half way through one song, but so far this guy is awesome!! Thanks for helping me discover more good music!
August 23, 2014 @ 4:28 pm
This is exactly what I been lookin for.
August 23, 2014 @ 8:04 pm
And folks like this are why I follow this site.
August 23, 2014 @ 8:12 pm
Yup . Justin is the real deal…no question . Man its refreshing to hear a lyric that ‘breathes’….space for a listener to digest what the man is singing about . I could have used a few more upbeat tracks for overall contrast . Not sure he’ll attract a large audience because of the overall sameness of this particular collection ….but he’s got something interesting going on here .
I know this is a digression but I just heard that Sam Hunt song “Leave The Night On”.
Man what a derivative , generic, over-written piece of S**T that excuse for a song is .The opposite of Justin …NO room for a lyric to breathe …way too congested and riddled with cliches going around in circles and saying nothing . No character to his vocals whatsoever . Same chord progression about 100 other country songs in the past couple of years have used This could be the Kruise Kids or Keith Urban or any of a dozen same-sounding bro country wannabes . Just a God-awful forgettable piece of crap.
There ….now I feel better .
August 23, 2014 @ 11:50 pm
Nice little rant there Albert. I couldn’t agree more; and also his appearance is the epitome of metrosexuality.
August 24, 2014 @ 5:32 am
If you go on the pod cast W.B. Walkers old soul radio show episode 66 he said he wrote it about Steve Earl no offence to Steve’s music but he came up here a few years ago acting like he knew something about what we do and miss leading people about our life and pride Just saying w.b said it was for Steve Earl go check it out episode 66 some good music too
August 24, 2014 @ 6:49 am
Thanks for this review. Ordered the CD.
August 24, 2014 @ 7:52 am
I bought this album and I absolutely love it!
August 24, 2014 @ 2:44 pm
I get in trouble with my wife every time I come to this site because I end up buying stuff. Ahhh, well, she’ll get over it. Great music.
August 24, 2014 @ 4:04 pm
Quick question…
Are any of the songs of a religious nature? iTunes has several podcasts of him when he was associated with an evangelical church.
Like his music from the track above, but don’t want to be preached to at the same time.
August 24, 2014 @ 5:29 pm
I don’t get the preachy vibe off of this music whatsoever. Only the last song “Sunday Song” even veers close to that direction.
August 25, 2014 @ 9:10 am
Are you sure it’s the same Justin Payne? Was curious and did a Google search. Found one iTunes entry under Justin Payne that was described as a sermon from “Pastor Justin” in 1969.
Apparently, there’s another singer songwriter out there named Justin Payne. Watched a video of his thinking it was this Justin Payne, but then realized it wasn’t after finding a live version of one of the songs from this album on youtube. Different dude.
August 25, 2014 @ 10:09 am
Nope, not sure at all. But the podcasts have Justin Payne on them from churchonfire.com, and they sit directly under this Justin Payne’s albums and songs (which prompted my question) in the iTunes store.
Fwiw, there’s no identifying info at the church link to help figure things out. I tried.
August 25, 2014 @ 10:33 am
No, that is not the same Justin Payne
August 25, 2014 @ 11:36 am
Thank you!
August 24, 2014 @ 8:02 pm
Liking this a lot, for a first listen. Thanks, Trig, for the heads up!
August 25, 2014 @ 8:45 am
Wow, good stuff. Thanks for the share.
This guy has got to have some influence from Jamey Johnson. His delivery of a song is very similar and gritty.
August 26, 2014 @ 3:20 pm
Hell I can do without the polish if I get to listen great music like this. I don’t care where or how this was recorded, it’s awesome. This one is in the pipeline for beer/cigar/front porch night.
July 25, 2017 @ 6:24 pm
Authentic Country Sound. Awesome lyrics that hit home. I really like…Man I Should Be & Sunday Song.