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 efforts. The Ballad of Dood and Juanita may or may not go down as the defining Sturgill Simpson album…
Sam Williams’ major label debut proves he possesses his family’s talent, but also suggests he hasn’t yet asserted his own musical identity. If nothing else, the descendants of Hank Williams who’ve made a go of recording careers have all attempted to stake their own…
Wanda Jackson deserved a far better party than Encore for her send-off. Recorded in 2019, before she announced her official retirement, Encore will most likely be the legendary Wanda Jackson’s final studio album. For her swan song, Jackson enlisted a catalog of collaborators who, on paper,…
Connie Smith’s excellent The Cry of the Heart is proof that traditional country in 2021 doesn’t have to be mere museum curio. While many of country music’s legacy artists have been as prolific in their elderly years as they were in their youth, Connie Smith…
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 only the second album released by Yola, the British country-roots maven, Nashville transplant, and sometimes Highwoman. And yet, it’s…
Amythyst Kiah’s breakthrough autobiographical album dwells in the darkness without getting lost in the void. If you know Amythyst Kiah, it’s probably through her involvement with Our Native Daughters, the Rhiannon Giddens-led all-star troupe that reasserted the centrality of Black women to the history…
Gary Allan needs to stop trying to be cool and remember where he came from. Throughout the aughts, Gary Allan was one of the few consistent bright spots on country radio. Armed with a truly remarkable voice of real range and grit, Allan brought a rough-hewn…
Somehow Chris Thile’s debut solo record, Laysongs finds the musician in delicate, ruminative form. Given that he’s been a professional musician for more than half of his life, it’s something of a surprise to realize that Laysongs is Chris Thile’s official solo debut. First gaining recognition…
Ashley Monroe fully commits to a new mood on Rosegold, but the lightweight affair is stripped of much depth or character. Ever since Like a Rose, the 2013 album that was for all intents and purposes her debut, Ashley Monroe has been all but…
The Marfa Tapes finds the three old-hats of country riding each other’s waves to melancholy and joyous heights. Toward the end of The Marfa Tapes, you’ll hear Miranda Lambert sing “Tin Man,” a signature song from her 2016 masterpiece The Weight of These Wings. She’s…
