Kelsey Waldon leads the pack this week.
The Ting Tings
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Most of the time, I think Alan Jackson’s “Gone Country” is mean-spirited gatekeeping. Then something like this comes along that couldn’t be more strident in its attempted career reboot/pivot that I just shrug and say, “Look at them boots.”
(And, for what it’s worth, I still like the brattiness of “That’s Not My Name.”)
Jesse Daniel
Son of the San Lorenzo
He had arguably the finest album of the neo-trad contingent in 2024 and looks to repeat; beyond the technical chops and the genre know-how, it’s his commitment to doing something interesting with his persona that truly sets him apart from an increasingly crowded axis.
Lucas Nelson
American Romance
Of course he has all the goods for a rich solo career now that his band’s on hiatus, but this proper debut raises the question of whether S. Jennings is the right producer to bring his considerable gifts to bear. Nelson often sounds like he’s straining to be heard here.
Kelsey Waldon
Every Ghost
She continues to stick to her trad-country guns in ways that sound timeless, not out-of-time. It’s easy to imagine most of these tracks as genre canon-fodder had they been released in the early 70s, and she remains a vocalist of distinctive, singular presence.
William Beckmann
Whiskey Lies & Alibis
His singing is effortlessly great in a way that masks some of the more generic songwriting, and how nice to be able to say that about a mainstream-adjacent act in the country space in 2025. The 90s aesthetic here fits, then, for a guy who can really and truly sing.
Norman North
Songs I Never Sent… [EP]
A real talent who’s still not quite put everything together in a way that works consistently or cohesively. The hip-hop elements on these tracks are far more pedestrian than his usual MO, and the country flourishes are buried much farther in the mixes. Disappointing.
Joshua Ray Walker
Tropicana
Getting new music from him at all feels like such a huge win, all things considered. Here, the vibe and the singing are great, even when the songs aren’t. And even then, there’s something to be said for beach-themed songs that aim for more than just pure escapism.
William Beckmann is such an incredible singer. Would love for him to have a mainstream breakthrough moment.
…the ting tings are not a korean boy band? bummer. “winning” from that album is quite pleasant too – in a totally unremarkable way.
…i wonder, who those people are in kelsey waldon’ promo team. there they have a star with one of the most disarming and charming smiles in the world – and they have no better idea than this album cover shot? then again, the only disappointing thing with this effort.
…here’s my farcethemusic attempt on norman north – songs i’ve never meant…
…tobey maguire became spiderman, let’s keep fingers crossed for william beckmann on his way to stardom.
…just enjoy his particular voice too much for not being biased. any album lately that shooter jennings didn’t produce? that man’s on fire.
the ting tings are not a korean boy band?
I’m trying to operate on an assumption of good intent here, but I’m struggling to read this in a way that isn’t the kind of racist Asian joke that should’ve died off in the 80s with Long Duck Dong and Short Round. And there are certainly country music websites where racist comments or “jokes” are left unchallenged or are even encouraged, but that’s not us.
So this is a reminder that our Comment Policy, which has been unchanged since the early 2010s, is linked from the main page, and even long-time commenters are expected to abide by it.
uh, jonathan, with that reply you are disclosing more about your perception than mine. here’s the facts: koreans would – by most common perception – be considered as ethnicity rather than a race. your racism suspicion appears to be more than just a little ott. my remark based purely on a spontaneous association of my brain (asian sounding tones and perhaps the news that the frontman of BTS has finished his military service just very recently and would be back for boy band service) due to a band name in all its splendid childishness that could, arguably, also have evoked “kindergarden” or “wind chime philharmonic orchestra” (the latter item i didn’t have ready in my english vocabulary) is utterly fabricated. furthermore, picking on 10 percent (count the characters of the whole thing) of an overall not in the least policy infringing post/context (presumption, exclaimer reading is such a waste of life span) is poor boulevard journalism technique. shame on you – if on anybody – but most likely not on the party that has never heard of “long duck dong” ever in his life.