Mixerr Album Reviews #2,298

Lil Cap’n Travis - Lil Cap’n Travis is the eponymous self-titled debut album from the Austin, Texas based band Lil Cap’n Travis that is notable for tunes such as My Life in Amarillo, Sheri Lynn, Little Drops of Summer, and Burn My Barn Down. The band leans using the retro country and western sound on this album more than indie rock or alternative rock as they did post-2000. Think of this album as a retro country rock album. This album is most definitely an excellent piece of work.


My Life in Amarillo explains how LCT lives their life is living in the town of Amarillo, Texas. Living in the town of Amarillo, Texas is quite boring for them as there is nothing to do or see. That is why they often face and suffer from boredom. This song deals with the realities of life in Texas. The song uses a heavy influence of country music and indie rock.

Waking up late in the afternoon at 2:30 is normal for them. Smoking is one of their habits. They live the slacker lifestyle. They drink cheep beer because there is nothing else to do in Amarillo. There is nothing to see or do. Boredom is something LCT faces daily.

Look out the window and you’ll see a truck on concrete cinderblocks on a neighbors lawn. Nearly everyone works for Pantex which makes warheads and weapons for Uncle Sam. That’s life in Amarillo. Amarillo is filled with friendly people who do nothing wrong. People stay busy by working. There is nothing to do. That is why the days seem boring.


Burn My Barn Down is about a man who wants to burn his barn down. A man is lonely since a river flooded and washed away his horses. As a result, his ranch is lonely and devoid of animals or any other wildlife. So he decides to burn his barn down to spare himself the pain.

Burn My Barn Down deals with the state of loneliness, sadness, and isolation. There is a sense of monotony in the vocals. The song uses a small bit of Delta blues and a huge chunk of country music.

These lyrics deal with loneliness. “Little river washed away my ponies/This ranch is kind of lonely now” Here these lyrics deal with sadness. “Wicked fate/This time you’ve done your worst/What did I do to deserve such a curse?/Oh Mother Nature/You finally won your battle”

This song got Lil Cap’n Travis a small amount of radio on KLBJ-FM back in 2000 which led the band to press up a CD single of the same name in limited quantities.


Little Drops of Summer is a perfect relaxing summertime tune. It's the song built for the summer night air to chill out to. In fact this song is perfect for both daytime and nighttime. The song definitely has a nostalgic 60s rock sound and vibe. This is also another one of their songs that deals with the realities of life

Lil Cap'n Travis sticks to the roots of country and western music on Truck Driving School. Of course the roots of country and western music have not been forgotten. This tune is driven by a harmonic keyboard organ over a powerful retro electric guitar. Using elements of country music is a tradition LCT has done for a long time now. Truck Driving School has a Whiskeytown vibe.

Ghost In The Window is the haunting but upbeat country rock song about a ghost who haunts people in the night. An edge of country grittiness is used in the guitars. There are points in the song where the instrumentation gets funky.

Rodeo Clown is one of the more spacey psychedelic cosmic cowboy type of songs off the album. The atmosphere is quite airy, spacey, and atmospheric. A guitar and keyboard provide the harmonies for this song. The song is quite funny and has a country charm.

Flattened By The Good Times stays true to the roots of country and western music the same way the song Truck Driving School. Notice how the keyboard is used to provide harmonics. LCT lets the good times roll on this song.

I rate this album 5/5*****!