A solid, if not a remarkable week.
Orville Peck
Appaloosa [EP]
Returns to the aesthetic of his Bronco era, which is a welcome pivot, since really only he and T. Neilson are operating in that exact space at this level. And this set boasts some of his finest singing– that “Maybe This Time” cover works entirely too well– to date.
Kelsea Ballerini
Mount Pleasant [EP]
A major disappointment. This maintains the confessional lyrics she’s been mastering for several albums now, but the melodies are seriously lacking on these songs. And the vocals are giving Moroney: A forced rasp, badly off-key. She’s far better than this.
AVTT/PTTN
AVTT/PTTN
Even if not all of these arrangements work, this is still the most interesting thing the Avett Bros have been attached to in years. In terms of the exact apocalyptic country-folk vibe, the soundtrack to The Devil & The Daylong Brothers nailed this far better back in January.
Ramona & The Holy Smokes
Ramona & The Holy Smokes
A debut of pure, undiluted honky-tonk performed with swagger and skill, and one that foregrounds how a Latina’s POV absolutely belongs in that milieu and always has. Even in a banner year for traditional country, this crew stands out in all the best ways.
Carl Perkins
Some Things Never Change
Joins Anne Murray and Charley Pride in having a “new” album of previously unreleased vault material that’s as good as any of their proper studio records. This smokes in the exact way Perkins’ music does at its best, sounding vintage without sounding dated. Essential.
Alexandra Kay
Second Wind
A step up from her debut in that she’s put some work in on her fairly limited singing, and the production’s more polished, if still too indistinct from other contemporary fare. Her “recovering tradwife” POV as a writer remains fascinating and needed right now.
Joshua Slone
Thinking Too Much
Quality-wise, he’s already streaming way above his weight class. The aesthetic aims for folklore/evermore and “Stick Season,” while the singing and writing imagine if Zach Bryan were a middling tenor instead of a middling baritone. I hear the potential but not the now here.
Philip Bowen
Appalachia Forever
Go-to session musician and songwriting ace reaffirms his own bona fides on an awfully strong second album. The engineering here doesn’t sound lo-fi so much as it sounds cheap, and that’s a disservice to the quality of this record overall.
The stunning centerpiece, “Blue As Water,” is about a husband’s enduring grief after a miscarriage, and it is so rare to hear this kind of naked vulnerability from a man in the country space right now. It’s no wonder he commands such a list of top-tier collaborators (CWG, L. Majcen, M. Hughes).
Queenie & Hank
Queenie & Hank
The overall vibe is maybe a degree or two too arch for its own good, but this is also giving Shovels & Rope in the best ways, so I’m inclined to forgive the lapses into irony. His signature baritone and her new-to-me plaintive wail make for a great pairing.
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