New Brand Of Misery

Carl Bentley was originally from Eastern Kentucky and grew up in a musical family. While honing his singing skills, he also developed a fondness and talent for songwriting. Unfortunately, he was in an auto accident in 1966 that almost ended his life. After his recovery, he started performing bluegrass music while working in software development. In 2004, he relocated to his current home in Indiana, landing a computer job. He kept up with his music and put out a couple of albums with a band, “Eagle Creek,” following up with a self-titled project. 

With a new project and a new band, Bentley is continuing his love for singing and songwriting. The band now consists of Bentley on guitar, with Josh Coffey (banjo), Caleb Garrett (bass), and Jon Crouch (mandolin). The guest artist is Ron Stewart (fiddle), who also engineered and produced the session. Bentley wrote most of the songs with themes such as grief, love gone wrong, a mine explosion, moonshine, and going to heaven. 

These include the title track “New Brand of Misery,” “90 Degrees in Dallas,” “Floyd County Mines,” “Grandpa’s Moonshine,” “Freight Train Carry Me Home,” and “I Want To Go To Heaven.” Other sources are from folks like James Bland, Merle Haggard, and Jim Reeves. These include “Hand Me Down My Walking Cane,” “Back To The Barrooms,” and “I’ve Lived A Lot In My Time.” The Bentley band has really nice vocals and harmonies, and the instrumentation is very good.