Four star efforts this week from Ken Pomeroy, Kimmi Bitter, Elizabeth Cook, and Ghost Hounds.
Nora Kenny
Stop Hangin On Me [EP]
Some of the lyrics are a bit too on-the-nose– the title track skews into therapyspeak in a way that draws too much attention to itself– but she sure has a tremendous knack for song structure, and what a cool, distinctive singing voice. Bring on the full album.
Ken Pomeroy
Tonight’s News [EP]
Collection of covers highlights how intuitive and purposeful her vocal phrasing is; if none of these are revelatory new interpretations, Pomeroy wrangles them into her own lane such that they’re to a one of a piece with her small but vital catalog.
Brandon Flowers
Thrasher
When he doesn’t affect a just godawful drawl or lapse into his usual, “Take Me Seriously, Please?” desperation in his lyrics, he actually pulls this off really well. And that’s most of the record, even, which is an absolute marvel of production throughout. Good on him.
Kimmi Bitter
Bittersweet
What’s great about Bitter– beyond her phenomenal vocal control– is her understanding that if you’re going to lean the whole way into this kind of schtick, you’d damn well better have the songs to back it up. She avoids cosplay trappings on talent and force of will.
Elizabeth Cook
Great Television
As tremendous as her albums always are, this set has a fascinating throughline about different forms of trauma voyeurism, and who else but this singular iconoclast would make that the arc for a killer country record? The Felker collab absolutely rips, of course.
Maggie Rose
Half Moon
Without any lingering country flourishes to be found, the aesthetic here is less distinctive than on her last couple of albums as she continues an early aughts Hot AC move. But her singing just keeps getting better and better; it’s her performances that elevate this set.
Cimarron 615
Same Sky
As with their last outing, this gives Perfectly Fine House Band without ever once rising above that. There’s a technical proficiency– but for a couple of badly off-pitch lead vocal tracks, that is– but very little in the way of a distinctive sound or POV here.
Sam Platts
Right Where I Belong
He continues in a comfortable vein that imagines Dale Watson without the same stuffy genre gatekeeping vibe, which isn’t such bad territory to stake out. Songwriting’s a bit hit-or-miss, but he’s a strong singer and natural bandleader.
Ghost Hounds
Justified
Among full-on bands operating in the greater country universe, Ghost Hounds may very well have the highest ceiling. At their best, the caliber of frontman SAVNT’s singing and the band’s diverse range of genre influences create a powerful vision of true Americana.
If this set isn’t as dense and knotty as its tremendous predecessor, it’s even more accessible, especially in a market that has named an act like Red Clay Strays the reigning ACM and CMA Vocal Group of the Year. Justified captures Ghost Hounds in form that, by all rights, should break them that big.
Which is to say that the hooks are massive, SAVNT sings his face off, and the genre signifiers will play equally well across country, blues, rock audiences. The choices of a few cover tunes don’t inspire quite the same jaw drops as on prior efforts, but still: Ghost Hounds deserve the world.
Ashley Cooke
Ashley Cooke
Fully three years removed from her sole hit, Cooke returns with an album that splits the difference between trying too hard to repeat that success with imitations of the worst of today’s trends and tracks that show a pretty respectable growth curve.
Cut all of the former from this overlong set, and this would make for a strong resetting of her artistic identity. As is, it settles for illustrating how Music Row does both far better and far worse.
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