Emily Scott Robinson delivers an AOTY contender.
Emily Scott Robinson
Appalachia
Have we already heard the finest album of 2026? Setting aside that this is the best singing Robinson’s ever done– which says an awful lot on its own– and that her writing here is a refinement of her already superlative understanding of form and structure, this album stuns.
Each of the songs here scans quite deliberately as a powerful rebuttal to the ongoing and increasingly vocal attacks on empathy. The characters she’s written about here are, to a one, given a story of struggle and resilience, and Robinson’s performances convey why those stories matter to her.
As with the finest country music, Appalachia foregrounds shared human experience as something that elevates all of us when we’re actually open to giving a damn about someone whose life may not be exactly like ours.
It isn’t just a brilliant record in a technical sense; it’s a vital, important one.
Josh Weathers
Neon Never Fades
Among the most accomplished technicians in this trad-country vein, what Weathers has done here is good enough that I’m left wishing that he did even more with his mastery of genre conventions, in terms of a distinct POV within the writing or style.
Della Mae
Magic Accident
An outfit that just gets more self-assured on every record, they lean into their unimpeachable technical know-how and their force of personality on this set. They’re magic, yes, but it’s no accident. This is a new peak for a truly gifted band who know who they are.
Hudson Westbrook
Exclusive [EP]
Maintains his status as the alpha among his class of Pledge Week Country acts via a baseline competence as a vocalist and songwriter, and for not putting anything on record that’s an active hate crime against genre or basic human decency. Clears the lowest bar.
Paper Kites
If You Go There, I Hope You Find It
God almighty, this is dull. They’re usually a reliable outfit in the modern folk / ‘cana space, but the aesthetic here is just so ponderous and suffocating, as though every line is infinitely more profound than it actually reads. Hope they find their mojo again soon.
Kashus Culpepper
Act 1
We’ve been beating this drum for a few years now, and this overdue debut proves this man ought to be one of 2026’s real breakout stars. A commanding presence on record, his performances are a marvel of both power and phrasing. Songwriting can be a bit underbaked at times.
Still, the question is whether this specific record label– Big Loud, giving “Look, our token black friend means we aren’t problematic!” here– is actually going to put their resources into making him into a bona fide star. With this album, Culpepper’s certainly done his part in that regard.
Jamie O’Neal
As with the advance EP, she remains in fine voice and in need of collaborators to assist with her wildly uneven song selection. Too scattershot to make for a full-fledged comeback record, but with enough highlights to remind that she deserved so much better than she got.
Memphis Kee
Dark
Hits my late 90s alt-country sweet spot for the harder, rock-edged vibes, and the killer collab with Jamie Lin Wilson would get Americana airplay under ideal circumstances. The lead vox are at least something of a liability, but Lord knows there are worse out there.
I expected great things from Emily Scott Robinson, and she exceeded my standards. An absolutely stunning record. It’s been a while since I’ve been moved to tears by a song but Time Traveler did just that.
It is obviously well past time that I get acquainted with Emily Scott Robinson’s music.
Peter,
Trust me when I say there’s no bad starting point for Emily Scott Robinson’s music, and one could argue that any of her studio albums are her best. My personal favorite is probably still 2021’s ‘American Siren,’ but again, start anywhere and you won’t regret it!
Zackary, I remember first becoming aware of her with “American Siren.” Maybe I will start there!