\n<\/p>\n
\n\tMicky Braun is finding no lack of songwriting inspiration, even after more than two decades fronting a relentlessly independent country band. Time to act on that inspiration, though, is another story. \u201cI got a lot more songwriting books that have notes than I do that have full songs,\u201d the Micky and the Motorcars<\/a> co-founder tells Rolling Stone<\/em>.<\/p>\n \n\tMicky\u2019s older brother, Gary, on the other hand, has just hit his stride as a writer, to the point that half of the 10 tracks on the Motorcars\u2019 self-titled eighth studio album, out now, are written or co-written by Gary. It\u2019s a far cry from the Motorcars\u2019 2002 beginnings, when Micky wrote and sang nearly every song the band released while Gary played rhythm guitar.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cI didn\u2019t start out writing,\u201d Gary Braun explains, \u201cbut as I started writing more, I wanted to use my songs too. If I\u2019m gonna do this for another 20 years, then I want to be a bigger part of it.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tMicky and the Motorcars<\/em> is the five-piece Austin outfit\u2019s first record since 2019\u2019s Long Time Comin\u2019<\/em> \u2014 produced by the late Keith Gattis<\/a>. Micky wrote most of the songs on that record, but the Gary-penned \u201cStranger Tonight\u201d became the album\u2019s signature tune and reached the top five on the Texas radio airplay charts. When the time came to record the new LP, Gary\u2019s equal partnership on the composing side was fully established.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cGary\u2019s writing a lot more, and he\u2019s writing really good songs,\u201d Micky says. \u201cHe\u2019s breaking off, doing a lot of co-writes. It helps me out a lot. He had a few songs on the last record, but this one was 50-50, and not by being the Everly Brothers\u2019 \u2018You get six and I get six\u2019 kind of a deal. We just picked the best songs that we had, and we ended up pretty much right down the middle.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tIn a departure from the approach they took with Gattis on Long Time Comin\u2019<\/em>, the Motorcars brought the entire band into Austin\u2019s Arlyn Studios to record. Micky and Gary were joined by Pablo Trujillo on lead and steel guitar, Bobby Paugh on drums, and Bill Corbin on bass. David Abeyta \u2014 close friend to Micky and Gary and former lead guitar player in Reckless Kelly<\/a> \u2014 produced the record. The result is an album that showcases the range and depth of veteran musicians playing off of one another. Paugh and Trujillo set a soulful tone on the opening track, \u201cLaramie,\u201d before the album veers into rock, folk, and traditional country.<\/p>\n