Personnel: Justin Townes Earle (vocals, guitars, acoustic guitar); Cory Younts (whistling, banjo, mandolin, harmonica, piano); Pete Finney (steel guitar, dobro); Cory Younts (banjo, mandolin, whistle, harmonica, piano); Skylar Wilson (piano, organ, Wurlitzer organ, vibraphone); Steve Poulton (vibraphone); Bryn Davies (bass guitar); Bryan Owings (drums).

Audio Mixer: Richard McLaurin.

Recording information: House Of David.

Photographer: Joshua Black Wilkins.

MIDNIGHT AT THE MOVIES being Justin Townes Earle's second album, it's still early enough in his career that it's hard to talk about him without mentioning his father, Steve Earle. But for the sake of the obligatory comparison, the younger Earle's second release makes the differences between him and his father all the more apparent. Justin's actually more of an Americana traditionalist; he offers a faithful rendition of folk song "They Killed John Henry," shows off his acoustic fingerpicking skills on "Dirty Rag," and generally hews close to a rootsy country/folk orientation, eschewing the stylistic experiments in which his father often engages. Even when J.T. covers the Replacements' "Can't Hardly Wait," he turns it into an earthy, mandolin-laden affair, asserting his continuing commitment to his roots in both Americana and rock & roll.

"I am my father's son/ I've never known when to shut up/I ain't foolin' no one/I am my father's son." These words lead off the fourth song on Justin Townes Earle's second album, Midnight at the Movies, and given that many people still know him as the son of iconic singer/songwriter Steve Earle, it's a brave and startling statement. But at the same time, much like his 2008 debut The Good Life, Earle's second album works because he seems determined not be his father's son; the tone and the feel of this music owes precious little to the family line, and Earle sounds appreciably more relaxed, confident, and in control here than he did on his fine debut. Earle's music has one toe tangled in hillbilly tradition on the folk ballad pastiche "They Killed John Henry," the uptempo string band number "Black Eyed Suzy," and the honky tonk swing of "Poor Fool," but he can write about love and life with a clear and unaffected eye that's effortlessly timeless. The title song is a musical snapshot that gets its Nighthawks details just right, "Someday I'll Be Forgiven for This" and "Here We Go Again" are painfully intimate examinations of what can happen between people who care for each other, and while "Poor Fool" and "Walk Out" sound jaunty, they have a weight behind them that's telling. And while Earle doesn't sound like a guy who should be covering the Replacements, his version of "Can't Hardly Wait" finds a sweet heartache at the core that Paul Westerberg was afraid to show in his recording. Midnight at the Movies plays more like a subtle step forward for Justin Townes Earle than a quantum leap, but if the The Good Life suggested he was a talent to watch, this record confirms that he's a new writer to be reckoned with who doesn't need to trade on his family name. ~ Mark Deming

Rolling Stone (p.76) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "Bad-news love songs get slowed to morphine drips; the country-blues number about John Henry showcases Earle's hot fingerpicking."

Q (Magazine) (p.107) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "[A] mix of old-time country as if played through a Randy Newman filter lent to him by Will Oldham. Classic lived-in country."

Mojo (Publisher) (p.109) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "The sepia-toned, Opry retro remains and there's excellent 'now' Americana..."