The legends deliver this week.
CeCe
westbound
In 2023, Katie Noel went viral with “Southern,” one of the worst things ever committed to record. CeCe here took that as some kind of perverse dare, since she’s now dropped an entire album of tracks exactly like that. Abysmally sung and rapped lifestyle posturing. Miserable.
Asleep at the Wheel
Riding High in Texas: 50 Years in Texas
Texas Superiority is one of my least-favorite country subgenres, and these wily vets are one of a small handful of acts I’d ever let get away with a full album in that vein. Spirited collaborations further elevate this perfectly-performed set. Love this crew.
Jessica Simpson
Nashville Canyon Part 2
Shocking, truly, how much better this is than the Part 1 from just weeks ago.
For the first time in her career, she sings as though she understands that words have actual meaning when strung together in phrases, and like she has actual control of her voice.
Now, it’s not great, but these are certainly the five best tracks she’s ever recorded, and the production is fully in service to the moody and solidly-written songs.
I’m not going to pretend to understand her learning curve over the last six months, but I’m happy to give credit where it’s due.
Marcus Hummon
Songs For Emily: The Album
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It’s fine enough, if a bit dull, for what it is: A collection of some of Dickinson’s most well-known verses, set to polished modern folk arrangements. Ultimately, none of those arrangements really add to the poetry, and they lack some of the playfulness of her work.
Rodney Crowell
Airline Highway
Punchier, bluesier production than his late-career norm, and it suits him well on a particularly feisty set of songs. Some references show his age in a way he usually avoids, but not in a way that pulls more than a moment’s focus. He remains a vital talent.
Zach Top
Ain’t in it For My Health
Reaffirms that he has charisma for days, can choke the absolute hell out of a guitar, and can sing just well enough to set himself above the other men clogging up country radio. There are bigger stars with far shallower wells than what he’s drawing from.
But it also reaffirms that the songs, by and large, simply are not there. He’s still stuck on obvious pastiche instead of finding his own voice, which draws attention to the superior singles (“Chattahoochee,” “Brokenheartsville”) he’s aping. He’s yet to answer why not to listen to those, instead.
CMAT
Euro-Country
A wild and wildly uneven ride, but when it comes together (“When a Good Man Cries,” “Coronation St.”), she’s really and truly got something here worth building upon. Her writing’s maybe a bit too clever at times, and her voice will be an acquired taste, but I’m on board.
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