A hit or miss week, led by Brandi Carlile and Raleigh Keegan.
Brandi Carlile
Returning to Myself
Feels like she pulls a few punches in the latter half, but this is really and truly a return to the Carlile of a decade-plus back in terms of quality. What I love here is the willingness– at least up to a point– to dissect her public persona with real vulnerability.
There’s a powerful sense of self-awareness in how she considers “Brandi Carlile” in these songs– hell, there’s a whole thesis to be written about an early line about how, “They don’t give awards for that,” right at Grammy voting time– in a way that’s as incisive as anything she’s ever done.
The best songs on the album mine that tension between both favorable and less-so public perception and an authentic interior private life. But even the more didactic songs are still written from a place of clarity of purpose, and she sings the absolute fire out of those songs, too.
Preston Cooper
Toledo Talkin’
A powerful and rangy vocalist, I wish I liked his actual tone better, and I do wonder if the nasal rasp is an affectation to appeal to Wallen’s fans who don’t know any better. Either way, there’s some real meat on the bones of this polished, accessible record.
Raleigh Keegan
Appalachian High
Collects his 2025 EP and individual singles into a finished album, and it’s just spectacular stuff, really. His observations are funny, savage, and self-aware, and he has an uncommon knack for applying modern ‘grass forms to the hooks of his pop-country era.
Thelma & James
Starting Over
Mainstream-adjacent duos worth a damn have been a rare breed for ages, so what a great surprise it’s been to have two upstart duos dropping tremendous debut records in 2025. On the heels of The Band Loula, Thelma & James bring an updated Civil Wars fire here.
The harmony work here is particularly stellar, and they pull a wide swath of country, Americana, and indie rock influences into their sound.
The songwriting POV isn’t fully formed just yet, but they’re very clearly on the cusp of something great, and pitched in a broadly accessible way.
Hayley Jensen
Country Soul
Not the most accurate title, genre-wise, but this former Voice: Australia star sure can belt and growl her way through a solid contemporary country tune. Some of the bad-girl posturing feels rote, but that’s more a function of the writing than of her performances.
Pecos & The Rooftops
From Me
They pull off the post-grunge version of modern country more credibly and capably than the Nate Smith / Warren Zieders crew. The bitterness of the songs on this set feels lived-in in an interesting way, but the lyrics are subtle like a chainsaw.
Pete Droge
Fade Away Blue
Thoughtful, mature meditations on loss and navigating unexpected personal changes in an adulthood you thought was settled, these songs are a reminder that he’s long been a staple of proto-Americana. Production is lovely but does, indeed, fade away at full album’s length.
Todd Snider
high, lonesome and then some
The author of many compelling Stoner Fables is up so high on these songs that he can’t make out any of the finer details that typically make his writing so essential and distinctive. He’s trading in the profound for platitudes here, and it’s a choice that doesn’t work.
Atlus
Secondhand Smoke [EP]
We already have Temu Morgan Wallen (Tucker Wetmore), and now we have Temu Jelly Roll. If there’s an upside, he doesn’t have the same Megachurch Pastor sanctimony, but he also doesn’t have the same charisma on record. Emotional and vocal ranges are the same, though. [Shrugg].
Chris Young
I Didn’t Come Here to Leave
As ever, the question to ask is if this is the album that returns him to the caliber of his NEON album, which pointed toward the use of his stellar vocal talent to become a generation-defining mainstream country star. As ever, the answer is a resounding, frustrating “Nope.”
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