Mavis Staples leads the week.
Mavis Staples
Sad and Beautiful World
She could so easily rest on her laurels, but she continues to push herself and her art ever forward. Always w a focus on justice at both individual and societal levels, she keeps on singing with a clarity and resolve that few have ever matched. Essential.
Karley Scott Collins
Flight Risk
With a strong POV as a writer and, significantly, as a co-producer, Collins foregrounds independent agency throughout these songs. She matches that perspective to a rock-edged (Church, McBryde) aesthetic that fits her raspy contralto. A killer and yes, risky debut.
Brad Mehldau
Ride into the Sun
(***1/2):
I love that Mehldau’s taking inspiration from the work of a modern folk icon like the late Elliott Smith. The arrangements here highlight the sturdiness of– and lean into the fundamental melancholy within– Smith’s compositions. An appropriately understated tribute.
Dallas Burrow
The Way the West was Won
A collection of down-home country blues that would do Ray Wylie Hubbard (one of several great guests here) proud, this set is perhaps just a little too textbook in its formalism, but that’s really a minor quibble when the individual tracks smoke like these do.
Ashley Cooke
ace
For a moment, she seemed like she was getting some mainstream traction, but there’s not really anything here that’s likely to build upon that. The writing and production lack any distinct identity, and she works just well enough in a limited vocal range. Forgettable.
Vince Gill
50 Years From Home: Secondhand Smoke [EP]
Does it matter that one of country’s current elder statesman recorded a set that’s mostly Normie Liberal sentiment? It certainly does. Does that mean the songs themselves are well-written? Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. A step down from Vol 1.
Vince Gill
50 Years From Home: I Gave You Everything I Had [EP]
The slight weathering on his voice actually suits him quite well and lends a bit more gravitas to this brief set of introspective cuts that dig into the importance of deep personal connection. The guitar-work is, of course, impeccable, too.
Kaitlin Butts
Yeehaw Sessions [EP]
Poised for her mainstream breakthrough, she’s proving that she is more than ready to meet her moment without sacrificing any of the force-of-nature persona or genre savvy that have made her a long-time favorite. “The Middle” is gorgeous here, too.
Terry Klein
Hill County Folk Music
Now here’s a comparison I don’t get to make often enough: For his impeccable songcraft, rough-edged vocals, barbed-wire wit, and profound empathy most of all, Klein’s latest recalls the very best of the great Darrell Scott. A masterful country-folk storyteller.
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