TIM ATKINS w Laurent Malavergne: No Middle to the Road

One of the mainstays of folk music—at least the working-class school pioneered by Woody Guthrie—is singing the stories of folks on the edge of polite society, those who fall through the cracks and struggle to survive.

San Diego’s Tim Atkins dives deeper than most on his new release, No Middle of the Road. From rejected romantic overtures (“I Saw Tina”) to marital jealousy (“I’m Just Being Honest”), destructive emotional scars (“Knife Inside”) to unrequited love (“Water from the Well”) Atkins explores some pretty broad territory of setback and defeat.

The lyrics to the title track is a picture of utter, hopeless despair, of someone without hope, who’s given up on life. The song itself isn’t structured as a dirge—which is probably for the best given how dark the tale is.

Everything I try to do or try to learn
Comes out undercooked or else it’s burned
The way I’m going now
There ain’t no middle to the road
When I get there
Will I still possess my soul?

It’s not all depression and defeat, however. “Stirring Up the Ashes” is a blues piece about a man in a long-term relationship trying to rekindle a romance, grounded in a broad optimism.

And “Roof of Hell” (which opens with a gorgeous blues figure on electric guitar) is a clever concept, with smart lyrics to make it work:

If we can’t get to heaven
Then we might as well
Smell all the flowers
While we dance
On the roof of hell

Plus, a cover of “Bad Is Bad” by Huey Lewis and the News is a lovely surprise, delivered as a slowed-down blues but otherwise loyal to the original.

The songs are all well-crafted (and outside the Huey Lewis cover, all originals by Atkins). He has a warm singing voice, and he and Laurent Malavergne (piano and drums) have a nice musical compatibility.

The album closes out with the humorous “Don’t Bring Those Blues in This House.” With shout-outs to many of the greats of blues history, and an old-timey New Orleans arrangement with tuba and clarinet and a rough-hewn vocal delivery, it’s not too far from what Leon Redbone used to do.