Red Shahan is back in a big way with Loose Funky Texas Junky.

Loose Funky Texas Junky is a neon oasis in the West Texas desert. It’s groovy, snappy, and feels like shade in a heatwave but don’t let the style overshadow the substance because the heart of this record, like all of his previous, is the lyrics.

In a genre criticized for oversimplicity and too-direct lyrics, Red’s words take a bit of thinking to get to the core, a quality found throughout the Texas scene no doubt, but what sets Red apart is his dedication to using the right word in the right moment; whether it perfectly rhymes or fits traditional syllabic structure be damned. It’s something Nashville writing rooms would rather keel over and die than do, one because it’s difficult and two because it breaks the carefully calculated mold of radio composition designed for comfort over courage.