If you want to know who one of the hardest working artists in music is, look no farther than Charley Crockett. In normal times, he’s out touring nonstop with his band, The Blue Drifters, and putting out albums at least twice a year. In hard times, like these, he’s put a stop to touring, but is still churning out the albums. His newest, Welcome to Hard Times, comes after his spring release of Field Recordings, a digital only release, which consisted of thirty lo-fi recordings, mainly made up of covers and deep tracks that the average listener likely hasn’t heard. Musically, Welcome to Hard Times has the signature feel of Charley’s blend of Gulf & Western. Visually, the videos that have been released to accompany the album, have the look of a Spaghetti Western. Beautiful, but empty landscapes, striking color tones and reoccurring characters make for a well-rounded and immersive experience.

Welcome to Hard Times is produced by Mark Neill and features songwriting contributions by both Pat McLaughlin and Dan Auerbach. Although the album was written last fall, somehow the dark mood of the album, coupled with the title, feels like a perfect fit with how 2020 has turned out to be. As always, Charley’s own songs are perfectly matched with covers to give this album a cohesive and well curated vibe.

Having heard a few of the songs already, like the hot to trot tempo of “Run Horse Run," I skipped around, looking for titles that caught my eye. Without a doubt, the song that drew me in from the first few tinkling notes of the piano is “Wreck Me.” Vaguely reminiscent of the piano work of Floyd Kramer, it immediately struck me with its retro feel, something that Charley exudes throughout his music, persona and styling. Lonesome, losing at love again, Charley croons “about being left alone, why do you treat me like a toy, as if I’m just a little boy? While you wreck me…like you do.”

“Rainin In My Heart” feels like the blues, something that Charley and his talented band excel at. The seamless transition from blues to country to western is something that Charley has mastered and attributes to his time as a street performer. Slinky notes of the pedal steel and a steady drum beat make you feel like getting up to dance, although the lyrics of the song are as heartbreaking as the title suggests.

The sound of the banjo in “Lily My Dear” was enough to make this song an early favorite. I know Charley also plays the banjo, but in all the shows I’ve seen, I’ve yet to catch him playing it, so to hear it on the album is quite the delight. It’s a song that sounds like it could have come from the earliest days of country music and story songs. Often I don’t know which songs on an album are covers and which are Charley’s own songs. He is one of the few artists I know that can take a song and make it his own, even if it’s been covered a million times before.

You can’t go wrong with any song you choose on the album and early single releases like the title track, “Run Horse Run” and “Don’t Cry” were the perfect choices in giving the public a taste of the additional 10 tracks to come.

With his release of Welcome to Hard Times, Charley has made an album worth listening to, again and again. The trajectory and direction of Charley’s musical career has been interesting to watch, and with each record he releases, it is apparent that he is continuing to grow and develop his sound into something that is unmistakably unique. Charley is different, but in the best, most interesting way possible. Welcome to Hard Times is the latest addition to a solid stack of albums under his belt and I think it’s safe to say that one day, when a documentary is produced about this time in music, Charley will have quite the role in its history.

You can find Welcome to Hard Times here