From the opening track, Break Away Speed, the bar is set pretty high. The music has a ton of energy and the way Saenz melds with Kim Richey on harmony vocals really creates a gorgeous sound. Not only does Richey show up on various tracks to sing harmony with Saenz, she also helped write Break Away Speed.

The title of the album comes from Pocket Change, which is another solid tune. Great finger-picked acoustic opens, then gives away to full-on country shuffle. Again, Richey’s appearance in the song creates a nice vibe, a touch of honky-tonk goodness without feeling like a novelty.

It’s not just the straight-ahead tunes that make this album worth a listen.

Mellow tunes like Nobody and Sweet Marie create those restful moments where the lyrics really stand out. One joy about the songwriting from Saenz is the lyrical touch he gives songs to create a theme, but leaving enough ambiguity for listeners to each have their own experience when attempting to decode them. That is something that comes easily to most songwriters.

The road I’m On comes off like a mix of the more southern-influenced Neil Young sounds of songs like On the Weekend. It’s a great shift from the ballads and country-influences of songs like Tall Grass.

Speaking of Tall Grass, Saenz captures the sound of an old school Saturday night dance with that one. Images of folks dancing around an old barn or dance hall in the hill country pop into your head from the opening notes. The fiddle creates a wonderful atmosphere for some toe tapping and head nodding when in confined spaces.

The final highlight for me, Turn This Bottle into Gold, is a perfect mixture of the sounds I’d heard throughout the album. You have the up-tempo folksy rock of the earlier tunes with the sound filled out by some great fiddle work.

There is a point where you kick yourself for not checking out someone soon, but it eventually gives way to a feeling of happiness that you checked them out at all. Saenz and company created a wonderful collection of songs with Studebaker. I highly recommend listening to it again and again. It’s been on repeat in my office for a while now.

Pick up a copy of the album in various formats at Saenz’s Bandcamp page.