RIDLEY BENT

On his first release on Open Road Recordings, Buckles and Boots, Ridley Bent serves up tall tales, sweet rhymes, and love songs, with a dash of mayhem and murder on the side. Populated by a cast of modern day desperadoes, lovesick drifters, and small town heroes, Buckles and Boots, is full to the brim with stories you just can't take your ears off.

Whether it's a high school drug sting gone bad, or an aging road racer taking one last shot at glory prompted 'a whiff of the glory days comin' from the back seat' Ridley's characters don't compromise. They get what they deserve and take what they can get, straight up, with a shot of whiskey on the side. No matter how wild his characters get, though, Ridley Bent's own life and experiences shine through. “When I first started writing I was singing from my heart, and those songs are always harder to sing for people. So I kinda went completely the other direction and wrote from character's points of view. But no matter what, there's always going to be things that are you.”

Sometimes it's a growl, or a sly chuckle, but more often, these days, it's some shade of heartbreak. While there's no shortage of dangerous characters haunting the corners of the record, there's a far more personal side to Buckles and Boots. Tracks like 'Cry', 'Arlington' and 'Stand In Line' make it clear that Ridley, like the fallen rodeo star in the album's title track, has spent his own share of 'nights with the cold, hard truth.' Even with no police or punk ass kids to teach a lesson, and only everyday enemies, like loss and regret, to cope with, Bent's means of doing so are often brutally hilarious.
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