London-born singer-songwriter draws on wide Western canvas to create solid sophomore release.
Jack Browning’s debut album, Red Eye Radio (2023), may have flown under the AUK radar, but Keith Hargreaves recently clocked the imminent release of his sophomore album, Painted Skies. The artwork for both albums may seem familiar to those with a copy of The White Buffalo’s On The Widow’s Walk in their collection; all three have Browning’s brushwork in common. His portfolio of figurative painting focuses on Western culture and includes portraits of many fellow musicians. Spaghetti Westerns and the recordings of The Highwaymen clearly featured prominently in his upbringing. Although only three of Browning’s years were spent in the 20th century, his musical influences stretch back much further: one of his earliest recordings was the traditional ballad Gallows Pole. This song was first cut commercially by Lead Belly in 1939 as The Gallis Pole, but it was Willie Watson’s 2017 version that inspired Browning.
Painted Skies is an immersive and rewarding listening experience showcasing country, folk, blues, and rock; Browning certainly has all of these bases covered. The album opener Speak Your Mind (But Ride A Fast Horse), composed with guitarist Cristiano Pochesci, hits the ground running in southern rock style and raises a middle finger at past belittlers. In Champagne Taste, the London-born Browning takes the Bakerloo Line direct to Bakersfield for a honky-tonk twist on a phrase coined by his Cockney grandmother, as he tackles the problems of making ends meet with “champagne tastes and lemonade money”. Next, a forlorn fiddle adds gravitas to High Hopes; Frank Sinatra may have had them in 1959 and Pink Floyd in 1994, but Browning bares his soul to reveal that his lofty aspiration is to avoid repeating the mistakes of his father. A French harp features in James Alley Blues, inspired by Willie Watson’s 2014 version of this New Orleans standard, written by Richard “Rabbit” Brown almost a century ago, considered “the greatest record ever made” by music journalist Greil Marcus. Bob Harris played the track when he featured Browning as his Horizon Artist on his BBC Radio 2 Country Show in April 2025. Harris told listeners that Browning’s “Whispering Bob” portrait was hanging in his sitting room. Spaghetti Western soundtrack meets outlaw poetry in The Perimeter, whose narrator and lyricist is the Texan actor Joe David Walters. Walters, aka Texas Radio and the Big Beat, has a number of side hustles, including restaurateur and Western-wear entrepreneur. Heavy Is The Head brings the album’s first side to a conclusion. Its hushed exploration of the hidden tolls of touring should appeal to fans of Dean Owens and Calexico.
Side two kicks off with Junkyard Dog, enhanced by brass and industrial timpani. This song’s loose arrangement tips a Stetson to Island trilogy-era Tom Waits and provides a vehicle for rebuking Browning’s past sceptics. In the desert noir interlude, Wire, a lonesome whistle fades into the distance as the narrator marches slowly towards awaiting gallows. Love shines brightly under a canopy of Muhlenberg County Stars, a song inspired by Browning’s experience of the Bluegrass State during his debut US tour. If you’re not a Kentuckian but Muhlenberg County rings a bell, chances are you’re a John Prine fan: The Singing Mailman delivered Paradise in 1971, a requiem to a ghost town in that county decimated by strip mining. There’s a bonus acoustic version of Muhlenberg County Stars on the CD. Gut Feeling follows, a nod to being a small-town boy, before the Buck Owens’ Act Naturally vibe of Factory Reset takes a shot at influencers and self-appointed experts. Finally, in the reflective title track, Browning underlines the importance of his relationship with Anne, now his wife, in fostering the resilience needed to thrive as a recording artist. One could say that he wears his heart on his sleeve, given that she made the jacket that he donned for his album artwork self-portrait.
Although he’s from a Peckham-based family, Browning is more rhinestone cowboy than pearly king. It’s been a fair old pony trek down the Old Kent Road to Kentucky’s Master Musicians Festival, but Browning has been there and not just got the T-shirt; as well as performing in 2026, he was the festival’s Featured Artist, with his artwork appearing on the official lineup T-shirt. The gritty songwriting and broad musical palette of Browning’s Painted Skies deserve wide recognition. A new name maybe, but his musical talent and worldly wisdom will take him far. Be sure to have a seat at the bar when he next ties his horse to the hitching rail outside your local honky-tonk saloon.
