On his 2008 full-length release
Broken In, country singer Trent Willmon came up with a nuanced and far-from-simplistic examination of the cowboy code that combined Texas myth with something approximating harsh reality. A native of the Lone Star State, Willmon had already made two major-label records that took his rural persona into new areas: On his 2006 collection
A Little More Livin’, Willmon sang about divorce, infidelity and the myriad ways a stalwart cowboy could find trouble in the big city. As befits a country star, he also came up with good tunes about beer, California and busted relationships — sometimes within the same song. Willmon is a charming singer who knows enough to not take himself too seriously, and he’s a fine songwriter whose credits include Montgomery Gentry’s 2008 number-one hit “Back When I Knew It All” and Brad Paisley’s “Better Than This.”
— Edd Hurt