Olive Klug has the best album of the week, and Willie’s on a hell of a run.
Eric Church
Evangeline vs. The Machine
Others hear ambition, risk in this. Sharing many traits with Chief here, I hear the very precise panic of someone who was never cool but cosplayed it okay for a while, recognizing that, as his temples gray, he no longer knows the right next move to keep up that facade.
Is it a slinky blues riff? Yeah, that works all right. Is it Joanna Cotten cutting loose? Always, yes. Is it a French Horn? Was it ever a French Horn? Is it Tom Waits? You’re way out of your depth, sir. Is it a falsetto that would embarrass Mayer Hawthorne? Stop it right now.
Appreciate that, as ever, he has little regard for what country radio might play, but the choices he and Joyce make reek of flopsweat. They aren’t matched to individual songs w any sense of purpose; the vibe is chaotic applications of either decent or misguided ideas to underwritten songs.
Rebecca Lynn Howard
I’m Not Who You Think I am
Welcome back to a generational talent from a generation lost to the early aughts’ rampant misogyny. Her powerhouse voice is undiminished, and she takes some real stylistic risks here. Songwriting’s perhaps a little rusty in patches (“Strong, “Holler”), but most of this hits hard.
Jake Vaadeland
One More Dollar to Go
Admittedly, this is my intro to him, though it’s his third album. Plenty to like here, though his specific vocal style is far more effective on the Rockabilly styled tracks than on the Bluegrass ones, where he sounds more out of place than out of time.
Jonny Arsenault
Les Aurores
Americana en français. I’m [redacted] years from my AP French, but I found what I could parse of the lyrics to be quite solid. Aesthetically, the nods to blues, gospel, and some pop-country in his folk songs feel organic, and his flexible voice impresses.
John Morgan
Carolina Blue
His “Friends Like That” include Aldean, which explains the reflexive cultural defensiveness and women-as-things in his (unsurprisingly) in-demand songwriting. In another era, he wouldn’t have the vocal chops to make it as a performer, but that bar’s literally in Hell now.
Pitney Meyer
Cherokee Pioneer
A formally conservative but expertly picked and sung album of bluegrass from two guys who, realistically, weren’t going to make it in the modern country mainstream. The grass is greener for them here; Pitney, in particular, cuts loose.
I haven’t been able to source anything conclusive about either Pitney’s or Meyer’s background to account for potential cultural appropriation issues here, for what it’s worth. But it’s certainly worth mentioning as a point of concern with some recurring lyrical motifs and themes, if that’s the case.
Abbey Cone
Greener
Love the gumption to go for a full narrative song cycle and the interesting swings she takes w overall aesthetics. It doesn’t all cohere, but the skill and ambition are there for something remarkable down the line. A young talent to watch, for sure.
Aron Andras
Colors at Dusk
Much like Kathleen Edwards’ recent covers project, the individual tracks are all lovely (though, unsurprisingly, I would skip “Born to Die”), but the consistently somber vibe and slow tempo become tiresome at album length. Still, he has such a great voice for this kind of thing.
Southern Avenue
Family
Their best album yet, this amalgam of blues, soul, country, and gospel is pure Americana in form if not in genre. And the sangin’ on this, y’all. The Jackson sisters continue to level up their harmony work as they lean into the strengths of their familial bonds.
Joan Osborne
Dylanology Live
One of the all-time great interpreters and some like-minded pals recast a thoughtfully curated set of Dylan covers as soulful country-rock that is square in the middle of her considerable wheelhouse. What’s not to love? She remains a hill I’ll die on.
The Barlow
High Spirits
Fully holds their own with the likes of Silverada and American Aquarium, if not really differentiating themselves sonically. But the writing here is sharp (“Clean,” especially, shames country radio’s addiction addiction), with vocals that sound a lot like Wade Bowen. Solid stuff.
Willie Nelson
Oh What a Wonderful World
He remains a generous and singular interpreter of others’ songs, and Rodney Crowell’s work deserves this kind of recognition. Some of the arrangements are perhaps too close to Crowell’s own late-period aesthetic, but Willie’s phrasing always imposes itself.
Looking at his full discography, I don’t know that he has a better run of six great-to-canon-ready albums than his current tear, going back to 2022’s A Beautiful Time, at any point in his career. On historical precedent, he’s way overdue for a clunker.
I imagine it will be in next week’s roundup, but I just need to express my frustration with whatever Maddie & Tae’s label thinks it’s doing with them, which isn’t even really about the music itself. This pattern of releasing an EP followed about six months later by a full album where almost half the songs were previously released is deeply irritating to me, especially as someone who still buys and downloads my music rather than streaming.
Yes. I hate when labels do that. I still download my music rather than stream too. So, it’s frustrating to know that I need to wait to buy songs until the whole album is released just in case I end up wanting the whole album.
Yes! This is actually something I mentioned in what I posted to BlueSky about the album earlier today. It will be featured in next week’s round-up.
There are so many artists who have a legit claim that their label sabotaged their career with moves like this. It’s maddening.
Ooph. I haven’t heard all of the songs from the Eric Church album, but I did hear one with the falseto that you’re likely referring to. It was painful enough that I was embarrassed for him !
…speaking of sabotage, mr. keefe. i’m not sure, whether you are aware of the wonderful irony that lies behind your album selections every once in a while, when just judging by the covers. it’s like what the good folks at farcethemusic were so brillant at initially – only more original even:
john morgan: “what do you mean – truth or dare?”
olive klug: “don’t leave six year olds alone with a red crayon and your album.”
thomas mac: “finally managed to get my head under that hat!”
willie nelson: “more way to go i guess, trigger”
the barlows: “where’s that dude with the beer and the barbecue?”
southern avenue: “guess how many different characters fit on a album cover?”
aaron andras: “do you see what I see in front of me?”
abby cone: “see my left arm, bucky barnes?”
pitney meyer: “not whiskey meyer for cyin’ out loud!
rebecca lynn howard “no, i’m not janis, try again?”
joan osborne – “not too zach bryanish?”
terrific selection again, also musically.