Take it Like a Man isn’t a flawless record, but it has the swagger and the confidence of an artist who knows she’s struck a…
Mississippi Son is Charlie Musselwhite’s crowning achievement, the kind of rarified synergy of craft and content that only the most veteran practitioners can accomplish. Toward the…
Cruel Country can occasionally lapse into tedious shapelessness, but it’s low-key, easygoing charms feel largely organic and earned. For a while, it seemed like nothing…
Get on Board is a unique party record, a boisterous celebration of the folk-blues tradition that hoots and hollers with roiling joy. To hear Ry Cooder…
Palomino reminds us that Miranda Lambert is one of our most intuitive record-makers. In 1976, Joni Mitchell sang about the “Refuge of the Road” — about…
Crooked Tree is a sensational work of bluegrass that both honors the genre’s tradition and forges a proudly modernized take. There’s a stark, potent metaphor…
Humble Quest offers pleasing easy listening, but fails to rise to the level of skill and charisma of that Morris possesses. Just three years elapsed…
If albums were appraised purely on the merits of generosity, Vince Gill’s These Days would have its name emblazoned in every hall of fame and…
Welcome to the Block Party is a buoyant, confident riff on the ’90s country-pop aesthetic. There’s nothing subtle about the title of Welcome to the Block…
Age of Apathy is Aoife O’Donovan’s most grounded and assured album yet. Though recorded in lockdown, Age of Apathy dreams of motion. Songs catalog bus…
#5.The subtext of Outside Child, the solo debut from Allison Russell, is trauma — childhood abuse, cyclical violence, life as a teenage runaway. But the…
A long time coming, Raise the Roof is an enriching reunion for Plant, Krauss, and Burnett, only occasionally frustrated by the latter’s artificial production instincts. How…
In These Silent Days breaks the COVID-19 album mold, with Carlile toward introspection and intense emotionalism without giving in to insularity. Brandi Carlile wrote the material…
Pins & Needles is a star-making turn for Hemby, the rare gimmick-free studio debut that simply rips. You probably know a lot of Natalie Hemby songs,…
The Servant is another stunning piece of evidence that Shelby Lynne can do pretty much anything as a singer and record-maker. Following the genre-bursting bravura of…
A Southern Gothic is an album that thrillingly pushes at the boundaries of what the blues can be. You can think of genre as a set…
The Ballad of Dood and Juanita is traditional without every feeling old-timey, and is more fun and plays to Simpson’s strengths more than his more recent…
Los Lobos’ Native Sons is a top-tier covers collection and a heartfelt love letter to Los Angeles. Long before their days of weighty concepts and…
Bob Dylan’s 31st studio album was released to lofty expectations on September 11, 2001. Listeners who managed to snag a copy on that fateful day…
Stand for Myself reflects Yola’s next phase of healing after her debut, a sophomore effort that is equally confident and vulnerable. Stand for Myself is…
Exit Wounds proves more rollicking that Dylan’s more introspective solo work, not a full success but still a testament to the easy pleasures of his roots-rock…