Ryan Bingham

Ryan Bingham has one of those voices - a bit like Steve Earle - that has a lived in feel. Or rather a lived through it feel. And it's not surprising, given that Bingham's mother drank herself to death and his father killed himself. Five albums into his career, Bingham probably feels as if that personal background ought not to be referred to, but it forms part of his musical character. Perhaps more challenging for Bingham in recent years has been dealing with the extra attention that his award winning work on the film Crazy Heart has brought him.

The Jeff Bridges film earned Bingham Oscar, Golden Globe and Grammy recognition and now five years and two albums later, Bingham is perhaps finding his voice. That painful personal history still forms part of his lyrical inspiration, with Nobody Knows My Trouble talking about growing up in New Mexico, where he confesses to running away from "everything I know". There is more of the darkness elsewhere, but on Radio, it is dealt with in a more edgy bluesy way.

Musically, Fear And Saturday Night drifts between pure country and Americana, with the My Diamond Is Too Rough reminiscent of Joe Ely, before it ends with a sublime guitar solo. He ruminates about becoming a parent on the gentle sway of Broken Heart Tattoos, while the jagged Hands of Time deals with trying to put all these emotions and experiences behind you. He may sport a cowboy hat on the cover but Ryan Bingham isn't your ordinary country singer. Fear And Saturday Night shows why he's such a rising star.