Walker Pickens doesn’t wear cowboy boots and pearl snap shirts because that’s what the hipster-scripture dictates: he wears them because he’s done it all his life. He doesn’t write songs about girls sliding over on the bench seat of his F350: he writes about the real complexities of the modern relationship, because he’s lived them. As he sings in album opener Back Where I Started, Pickens is what he is, and that’s plain. An eighth generation Texan raised in the Hill Country town of Wimberley, Pickens released his self-titled debut record in May 2015. His songs ride the line between folk and country, between bluegrass and Americana, between roots and rock’n’roll, taking as many cues from Townes Van Zandt as he does from Tom Petty. Nine songs on the album are Pickens originals, and the one cover on the album, the John Prine ballad “Far From Me”, serves to highlight that Pickens’ writing can stand amongst the giants. In his lyrics, he has an eye for the telling detail that’ll make you weak in the knees. His voice is versatile and spot-on throughout the record, treating the quieter songs with the delicacy they deserve, and carrying a wink and a smile through rowdy crowd-pleaser “Hats”. The record was produced by Patrick Brooks and engineered by Ron Flynt at Jumping Dog Studios in Austin, the Live Music Capital of the World, and boasts some of Austin’s best musicians. Lloyd Maines, father of Natalie, lends pedal steel to several songs, while Texas Female Vocalist of the Year Brennen Leigh adds harmony to three songs, including rocking album closer “Seattle” -- and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. This confident, self-assured collection measures up to the best of them, and shows that true, honest music is still out there, waiting to be heard.