Let’s confront the 800-pound gorilla in the room straightaway – country music, in its myriad forms and styles, isn’t the first genre you’d think of as inclusive. Much of its songwriting history prides itself on a dyed-in-the-wool masculine view of life, resoundingly heterosexual, and not brokering well with alternative lifestyles.
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This began changing in recent years. LGBTQ artists have always lingered in the genre’s hinterlands, never receiving the same media attention they deserve. Still, transformative moments such as Lil Nas X’s 2019 CMA win for “Old Town Road” showed that business as usual no longer applies or can silence those voices. Montana native and now Texas resident Mike Schikora’s musical art is among the best produced after that watershed event.
He doesn’t ballyhoo his identity during the album Outlaw from the South. There are subtle lyrics and gender identifiers scattered throughout the release’s twelve songs. However, I think it is a game to comb through the songs for clues. The only question that matters, in the end, is how do they make you feel?
They succeed. “Outlaw from the South” will leave you a little agog as Schikora unravels a tale of violence, rage, and death with utter confidence in his abilities to get it over with listeners. The swaggering musical accompaniment, Texas to the core, is perfect for his purposes. The album’s second cut, “These Are the Good Old Days”, moves in a different direction. It’s musically much softer, and the lyrical content explores much more introspective subject matter than before. It’s a memorable one-two-punch opening for the album.
One track separates “You Do Me Wrong” and the latter “You’re My Angel”, but they nonetheless provide quite a contrast. The former track lays out stark emotional stakes for the listener, and Schikora conveys vast depths of hurt through his vocals. Organ imbues the latter tune with a glowing warmth that buttresses the affectionate nature of his lyrics. Schikora demonstrates the same elasticity as a singer which serves him well throughout this release.
“I Gotta Love Like That” will definitely have its fans. It’s easy hearing for me to hear this one as a budding live favorite, thanks to its chorus. There’s a strong communal feeling present in many of Schikora’s refrains that encourage audience participation, and the song obviously plays into those moments. “It Ain’t Whiskey Til It Rains” is another tune seemingly ready and poised for widespread acceptance if given the chance. Rambunctious, off-the-cuff energy is one of the biggest reasons why this song succeeds, and it has a welcoming sound that draws you into its web.
I admire “When Forever Smiles” and put it up there with the album’s best songs. It is difficult, if not impossible, to ignore the implied autobiographical nature of Schikora’s songwriting, at least much of it, and it helps make his performance during this song specifically moving. His exquisite sensitivity to each line elevates the entire track. Mike Schikora’s Outlaw from the South is full of worthwhile songwriting and music that doesn’t date. Nor does it champion any causes other than what it means to be a human being.
Garth Thomas