Mike Aiken is forty something seafaring singer songwriter who mixes country / roots rock with a Caribbean flavour. "I come from those back roads, dirt under my boots, now I live on the water with a country point of view," he explains on his song 'Find Me'.
Recorded in Nashville, 'Hula Girl Highway', is Aiken's sophomore record and he puts a nautical twist on his muscial philosophy "to put a little Jagger in his George Jones" which, he presents on album's opening track.
Actually, if you're splitting hairs, the rock touches owes more to Lynyrd Skynrd than The Rolling Stones but you get the point all the same.
There's a simplicity bordering on banality to the songs which features covers like ’This Here Mandolin’ by Michael Smith ‘Banana Republic’ by Steve Goodman and ‘Blowin’ Like A Bandit’ by Guy Clark. The latter counsels against sailing in windy weather while Aikens' self-penned 'Bottoms Up' recommends getting drunk in the barroom after a week of work. Like I said, it isn't setting out to be be deep.
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Playing music, going sailing and good loving sounds like a good life and I'm sure Aiken had a blast working with good friends on this record but, call me a landlubber, I found it a deadly dull listening experience.
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