In the write what you know style, James Scott Bullard has found a muse for his recent release, Full Tilt Boogie. The South Carolina musician claims that ‘all my songs are about bad decisions’, using the line as a mantra and a template for the stories. Once the mood is set, Full Tilt Boogie takes off running, pulling out the tale of “Evil Lovin’” from clouds of distorted guitar chords, closing the door on bad love and heading for an exit pointing a finger as he leaves a lover who ‘sees her double at the bottom of a whiskey glass’. A rumbling beat pounds a path to the pulpit for James Scott Bullard as he lists his “Wicked Ways” while Full Tilt Boogie promises “The Next Tear” will find love gone by the time it hits the floor, asks “Lord, Have Mercy” to handle a restless lover, and counts three options as a relationship exit strategy with “Jesus, Jail, or Texas”.
The album title of Full Tilt Boogie represents its artist well, James Scott Bullard wearing the skin of an all-or-nothing guy. He gets lost in the headlights, opening his heart as every city exit sign namechecked reminds him of the love at home coming a little closer with each tire slap in “Back to You”. Full Tilt Boogie bares its teeth, confessing that the whiskey, cocaine, pills, and heroin did not come close to taking their toll as the love of a woman that put JSB into action mode on “Warpath”. The beat makes a valiant effort to hammer the love in “All to Pieces” into a form that fits as James Scott Bullard offers a hand for a night out with “Hey, Hey Mama”.