Review: Chicago Farmer Weaves Tales of the Residents of 'Flyover Country'

“Flyover country” is a pejorative term, supposedly used to by coastal elites to describe the residents of the Midwest and the South, places they only “fly over” when commuting from New York to Los Angeles. Mostly it's a term used by conservative pundits to fire up those same heartland residents. That said, it's a fitting title for the new album by Cody Diekhoff, aka Chicago Farmer, for two reasons. First, it's an exploration of the lives and quirks of the residents of “flyover country.” It's also a good descriptor of Chicago Farmer's sound, which kind of “flies over” country music, touching on folk, Southern rock, and even tinges of punk.

Vocally, Chicago Farmer has a blend of the “shaggy dog” approach of Arlo Guthrie and the wry delivery of Todd Snider. It works for his musical style and you can't ever go wrong paying tribute to the likes of Guthrie or Snider.

There are plenty of highlights to Flyover Country but the song that immediately stands out, and the one that is practically guaranteed to become a permanent part of Chicago Farmer's setlists is “$13 Beers.” A folksier (and less angry) riff on Tom Petty's “When Money Became King”, Chicago Farmer narrates a story about a guy taking all his week's pay to go see “the big country show” at the arena, only to discover that he couldn't see anything but “a blurry cowboy hat” and couldn't hear for all the people talking and “getting drunk on $13 beers.” Disappointed, the narrator leaves and asks a street performer for recommendations of an alternate show, only to pointed to “Robbie Fulks playing Fitzgerald's tonight”, where he finds “they've got $4 beers! He'll sing you some songs and drown away your tears... we'll listen and get drunk on $4 beers.” Considering Chicago Farmer's touring schedule takes him to a lot more venues with $4 beers than $13 beers, it's sure to be a hit with the audiences and a song I'll find myself humming when I attend any Nashville arena show with $13 beer and a better view of Chattanooga than the stage.

Another song highlighting the Midwestern ethic is “Dirtiest Uniform.” It tells the story of three people who make up for a lack of talent or ambition with hard work. The first is a kid with mediocre baseball skills, but who shrugs off being beaned with a fast ball by “stealing second base.” The second is a teacher from a poor neighborhood who forgoes the better conditions and pay of wealthier districts to go back and teach the kids that resembled her. The third is Chicago Farmer himself, who admits “with the prettiest voice, I wasn't born” but who plans to make up for it with relentless touring and stage energy.

The quirks of Midwestern blue collar life is detailed in the punk, almost hard rock, infused “All in One Place.” It's an opposite, and truthful, take on the “thrifty” stereotype of the blue collar set with a more honest assessment of many who live check to check, admitting “I'm going to take my eight bucks an hour and spend it all in one place.” This song gives Chicago Farmer his most memorable line of the album, “I'm a song and dance man, who never learned to dance.” Among the folksy ballads and talking blues, it's a much needed electric injection that raises the energy level considerably.

There's just too much to recommend here to detail it all, from the title track's tale of a poor kid who joins the military and comes home in a flag draped casket to the drunken logic of “Deer in the Sky” to “Collars, which notes that white collar criminals get a wrist slap while a kid committing a felony at 20 has his life ruined forever, to a strong cover of Hank Williams' “Ramblin' Man.” Chicago Farmer, while an artist I was passing familiar with, was one I had never really given much of a listen. Flyover Country has inspired me to delve into his back catalog. If you like pithy lyrics hidden within folksy humor, or just an independent artist who is criminally underappreciated, Flyover Country is an album you should at least give a test stream (but please buy if you like it. Even $4 beers cost money and streaming doesn't pay much).

Chicago Farmer's Flyover Country drops Feb. 7 and he has a full slate of dates around the country that you can find here if you want to go have some $4 beers with him.