Say this for Jonathan Shockley and Travis Harmon, the two men behind Red State Update: they are walking as slippery a slope as you will find. Pretending to be what is traditionally thought of as blue-collar Republican voters, without either pandering to blue-collar Republican voters or having fun at their expense, is not an easy feat, but Shockley and Harmon do the balancing act quite well. The problem with not taking sides, though, is that you deny yourself the opportunity to do something extraordinary, and that is what ultimately prevents How Freedom Sounds, Red State Update’s debut (and likely swansong) album, from being something special. The songs won’t reinvent the satire wheel, but some genuine smarts are lurking within the redneck accents; “If I Was You” recommends that the subject of the song should just start drinking heavily in order to forget how miserable their life is, while Dunlap (Shockley) daydreams about the elusive “Stripper without a Kid.” Best of the bunch is “Get the Hell Outta My Store Hippie,” where Jackie (Harmon) complains about the Bonnaroo crowd freeloading in his store. It’s cute, but it’s just that: cute. The best humor is incendiary, not cute, and Shockley and Harmon are clearly capable if doing something incendiary. (Dualtone)
