There was a little hesitation going into reviewing Six Shooter, the newest album from the Dustin Bentall Outfit. Truth be told, country tunes aren’t exactly this writer’s cup of El Paso Wild-West salsa, but resistance soon shifted to respect as this terrific album made its way into my ears with its light hearted, humorous and self-reflective take on modern alt-country music. For example, the second track, “Take The Money And Run” features the chorus, “All I ever wanted to be was a cowboy on the movie screen / Riding the range, firing my guns / Getting the girl, riding into the setting sun.” As clichéd and corny as this may sound, for some reason it works quite well, and lends an engaging quality where one can feel the beauty in riding the plains and kicking back a few beers as the sun settles into the horizon—even if the lines are sung with tongue slightly planted in cheek.

With real stories to tell and a gifted way of telling them through song, Bentall has delivered a gem of an album that employs all manner of country tricks from the new and old school. Six Shooter travels beyond the borders, while perfectly capturing the essence of country life so thoroughly that even corny cowboy words sound romantic. Now let’s holster our guns and git to ridin’!