Ruston Kelly and Caroline Spence lead the pack this week.
Runaway June
New Kind of Emotion
The new line-up doesn’t yet have a cohesive identity the way the original trio did; this set essentially functions as a debut album, and it’s solid enough in that regard. A better timeline makes space for these SHeDaisy, early Chicks influences in the 90s revival. Alas.
Travis Roberts
Rebel Rose
If country’s going to continue to embrace a beefier “rock” aesthetic, I’d prefer Roberts’ version to the Zieders/N. Smith buttrock variety. The best tracks here actually nod to pop-punk / emo, in the sense that Roberts isn’t at all afraid of a hook or a melody.
Stephen Wilson, Jr.
Blankets [EP]
He remains more “interesting” than “great,” but I’ll take that from someone mainstream-adjacent enough to land a random CMA nod, I suppose. The Smashing Pumpkins cover is a dreadful slough, but the other tracks here are all solid, if treading “Son of Dad” water.
Ruston Kelly
Through the Window
The tension between his trademark “dirt emo” aesthetic and the contentment and joy that run through the songwriting here works in a way that’s surprising. That there’s some great steel guitar in the mixes makes a difference. He gives good mope, but this vibe suits him.
The Brothers Comatose
Golden Grass
It’s definitely giving String Band more than it is ‘grass, but I’m in no way getting mad over the semantics of that when a record is as fun– and often funny – as this one is. The obvious comparison is to Old Crow Medicine Show, who are also at their best at their most ribald.
Caroline Spence
Heart Go Wild
Lovely and understated, which actually makes this stand out more in a year when so many artists in this corner of the country universe are taking some big, bold alt-country swings. As ever, her vocal tone is tremendous, and more folks need to be paying attention.
…this feature almost “forces” one to take a closer look at album releases throughout the year. so far, my snapshot conclusion for 2025 (after almost three quarters) is: there’s easily a dozen or so albums both from male and female artists each that would already be in the run for “album of the year” – and priscilla block’s new one ain’t even released yet. an impressive number – perhaps one of the strongest ever actually – in my humble recollection and opinion. however, the billboard country album charts show a mere two releases from females among the top 25 records at the moment: ella langley’s “hungover” and taylor swift’s new version of ol’ “red”. how far off the mark can you be? perhaps, it’s time for an alternative system like the college football rankings. then again, there you find yourself headscratching too at times.
on a more enjoyable note: “animal poem” by anna tivel (previous update no. 35) is rather something, especially for grey november days. i can’t stand the sound of whispering most of the time but she even makes that acustic torture quite agreeable. totally in tune with the times that cover of travis roberts’. ms spence gives going wild a whole new – kinda blooming – meaning with her cover. don’t want to imagine her going composed (not composted). the new lead singer of runaway june ain’t just no naomi cooke (mind the double negative), i find myself thinking every time even though she’s not a bad vocalist at all.