All tagged Album Review
Downbeat is Ben Chapman’s third full length album, following Make the Night Better from 2022 and last year’s Amber Sound, Vol. 1, and it gives a fresh look at the singer/songwriter from Lafayette, GA. If the songs feel real and personal, it’s because they are. They come from his own life experiences and observations of the music business, both the victories and the losses.
It’s the type of tunes that you can hear the hardwood creak beneath the rocking chair. You taste the smoke from burning tobacco, feel the warmth of that Kentucky elixir spilling against your throat. Every note, a boot stomp in time to the lick of the banjo, heart bouncing with the tug of bass. The dust and dirt jumping from the floorboards to the kick of the drum - all, crashing into a chaotic symphony of folk mastery. Needless to say, Buffalo Wabs & The Price Hill Hustle don’t create the emotion - they are the emotion.
You know what follows is probably going to be something you don’t want to hear from somebody that has no business saying it. Saying “With all due respect…” seems to give some folks the green light to point out something grossly inappropriate or downright rude. Taylor Hunnicutt says she has taken the feeling of hearing that phrase and used it to fuel her passion, “the tone of this whole EP lies with the idea of just being done with this shit.”
One song into his solo set at AmericanaFest, Willie Watson mentioned his new album and heard an indecipherable shout from the back of the room, something few performers appreciate.
After years of hard work, sacrifice, and iteration; three amigos living in the hill country east of Austin, Texas in 2016 made a strategic, hard-fought entry into the arena of country music with a collection of recordings titled On The Rocks. The band, Midland, went on to earn commercial success through the irresistible hits of that record (e.g., “Burn Out,” “Drinking Problem”) whilst touring relentlessly with credible deep cuts and covers to back them up. Following up their debut with subsequent releases of the LP’s Let it Roll in 2019 and The Last Resort: Greetings From in 2021, Midland has made a name for itself as being a band that carries the flag forward for traditional country in a distinctly modern, soulful delivery. The collection of references and influences to artists like Gary Stewart, Keith Whitley, the Eagles, and countless more laced throughout the music alludes to the band’s namesake, which comes from a Dwight Yoakam song.
Baptized by the Blaze, the new album by outlaw country firebrand India Ramey, hits the ground at a full gallop and barely stops for a breath over 30-plus blazing, twanging minutes. It’s a rousing blend of honky-tonk brash-and-sass, by turns invigorating and healing, exploring themes of rebirth, redemption and just plain kicking ass.
The album brims with hard-won wisdom. Ramey has walked through the fire since her previous album, 2020’s excellent Shallow Graves. Just about the time that album was released, Ramey began reckoning with a long-term addiction to the tranquilizer Klonopin. She had been self-medicating for years to deal with trauma. Finally, she sought professional help to deal with the addiction and the underlying trauma.
Muscadine Bloodline will release their fourth full-length record August 16 on Stancaster Records via Thirty Tigers, but The Coastal Plain will represent the Mobile, Alabama-based group’s second release with a clearer sense of identity. “In a lot of ways our last record felt like it was our first record, in terms of knowing exactly what direction we needed to take our music,” said Gary Stanton, one half of the duo along with Charlie Muncaster, referring to 2023’s critically praised Teenage Dixie, “With this new album we wanted to narrow the lens even further and create a refined and more adventurous version of that.”
Two years ago, the Red Clay Strays had just released their crowdfunded debut album after playing together for about six years. They were mostly playing at the same venues as they had been, but now appearing in bigger print on more festival posters and still getting from show to show in “Breezy,” their old white minibus. They embarked on their first nationwide headlining tour with a custom bus and began to sell out venues along the way. Then “Wondering Why,” a single from Moment of Truth, went viral spending a week at #1 on Spotify’s Viral 50 USA Playlist and six consecutive weeks at #1 on the Americana Singles chart. It also cracked the all-genre Billboard Hot 100, top 10 on the Hot Rock Songs chart, and Top 20 on both the AAA and Hot Country Songs charts. Things will never be the same. Fast forward to July 26, 2024, and the band is set to release their second studio album titled Made by These Moments on RCA Records, produced by the legendary Dave Cobb and recorded at his studio in Savannah, Georgia.
There’s an easy musicality to Melissa Carper. It feels as if her soul is so steeped in music that she could pluck a tune out of the sky, Willie Nelson-like, anytime she wants.
So, it seems like the title track of her new album, Borned in Ya, could be her origin story. The phrase is a quote from bluegrass legend Ralph Stanley, who answered a question about old-time mountain music by saying, “I don’t really think you can get this sound unless it’s borned in ya.”
After three years, Sturgill Simpson has returned with a new album. Sorta. Sturgill mentioned for years that he had a five album plan and when he was done with that, he was done. He’s kept his word as everything he’s released since 2021’s Dood & Juanita has been under the Johnny Blue Skies moniker with the exception of the song “All The Gold in California” which he used his character’s name, Brother Marshall, from the TV series The Righteous Gemstones.
Passage Du Desir is no different. The Johnny Blue Skies name first appeared in the liner notes of Sturgill’s 2016 Grammy Award winning A Sailor’s Guide to Earth. If one were to compare this album to any of his previous output, Sailor’s Guide would be the closest, minus the brass section. Sturgill Simpson fans are going to love this. Anyone looking for a traditional country album is going to be disappointed; though there are a few bright spots in that category. All in all, there’s something here for everyone.
Jamil Rashad calls Boulevards - the moniker he performs under - a cosmic soul artist. But from where I sit, his latest release is still digging up a hip-shaking mother lode of old school funk.
Carolina Funk: Barn Burner of Tobacco Road, his fifth studio album, is a worthy follow-up to his critically acclaimed 2022 long player, and finds the North Carolina native still wandering in the platform-shoe footsteps of giants like George Clinton and Leroy “Sugarfoot” Bonner.
If the groove fits, keep wearing it.
This is physical music that dares you to listen and not move. But, it also continues Rashad’s introspection with deep-in-the-mix lyrics exploring both love and recovery. (2022’s Electric Cowboy: Born in the Carolina Mud, was his fourth studio album, but the first he made sober.)
It was a bold move back in January when Mike and the Moonpies made the sudden announcement that they were changing their name. The announcement came during this year’s Mile 0 Festival where just a few years before they had emerged triumphant as one of the hottest live country bands on the road, gaining thousands of new fans. In retrospect, it was just the latest in a series of bold moves for this group that has been surprising fans and critics since they made the decision to break out of the Texas touring cycle and try their hand at the rest of America.
“Rock n’ Roll with a cowboy hat” is one way Rob Leines describes his music. That hat is worn by the type of cowboy that puts in the long hours to do the things that sometimes only he can appreciate. So much time on the road away from family and friends chasing his dream that sometimes only he alone can see. Before going all-in on a music career, Leines was a welder traveling from one construction site to another but gave that up in 2021 to hit the road in support of his second release Blood, Sweat, and Beers. I was made aware of the guitar-driven power trio late in 2022 when they opened for Silverada (formerly Mike & the Moonpies at that time) at Floore’s Country Store in Helotes, Texas and completely dominated the legendary dancehall stage. Fast forward to 2024 and the new Rob Leines release Headcase, produced by Mike Harmeier (the “Mike” of the Moonpies) and renowned Roots Music producer Adam Odor (who has worked with Harmeier for many years), will drop on June 14.
It's still spring, but the “hell yeah” album of the summer has already arrived. It's by a raucous alt-country band out of Milwaukee called Ladybird, and it's an ungodly amount of fun.
You know what I mean: You’re at a backyard party and this album’s cranking, at some point you’re going to raise your PBR and let out a “hell yeah!”
Ladybird has been playing around Wisconsin and beyond since forming three years ago, opening for Jess Williamson, Sarah Shook and the Disarmers and others, amid headlining their own shows too.
Over time, Lost Dog Street Band has developed a reputation for being uncompromising, sometimes antagonistic, but garnered a reputation for being an ethics first band. Truth and substance first, and the music matters as long as the story is true. A talented group of musicians that have, as they’ve progressed have sharpened both in their resolve, approach, and quality of art. Not a band to ever rest on good enough or accept mediocrity. This ethos has endeared them to a generation of music lovers begging for raw and real over polished and manufactured. There’s an honesty in the art that the band can only create through exposure to scars. While sometimes this approach can be sharp, cutting, and hard on artists, it’s been rewarding as a listener and appreciated as someone who strives to maintain ethics in my own art.
Anniversary, the new release from Adeem the Artist, opens with a fanfare of crashing cymbals. It seems an appropriate start to an album that announces Adeem’s arrival on what should be a much bigger stage.
Already one of country music’s best songwriters, Adeem takes another leap forward with this latest release. Anniversary presents a dozen slices of life with Adeem’s trademark wit and intelligence, bolstered with a bigger sound aided by big-time producer Butch Walker (Green Day, Pink, Weezer and somebody named Taylor Swift) and a somewhat larger crowdfunded budget.
On the north end of Main Street in downtown Tulsa, where the Crosstown Expressway crosses Easton Street, you’ll find one of the world’s top performance venues. Cain’s Ballroom was built in 1924, and originally served as an automobile garage before becoming a dance academy which morphed into a ballroom for public dances. Bob Wills called Cain’s home from 1935 to 1942 and helped popularize the room nationwide with his radio broadcasts. Ownership in the ‘70s booked many rising acts which led to Tulsa witnessing some incredible rock shows that a city of its size would not normally catch. When Leon Russell moved back to Tulsa and opened his Church Studio, that brought more music power to the city and the visiting rock stars often made their way to Cain’s. All of this is to say that, as a venue of its size in a city its size, Cain’s punches way above its weight in importance as a place for an artist to record a show for release.
The problem with Scott Ballew is that you don’t know where to begin. Peeking into his bio is like embarking on a journey through a fascinating novel with chapters that each hold their own appeal, yet collectively seem too extraordinary to belong to just one man. From his days as a football star to his ventures in filmmaking and battles with addiction, and now emerging as a songwriter, Ballew's 40 years have been a whirlwind of experiences that are anything but ordinary. It's often said that experiences shape a songwriter, and if that's true, Ballew has that in spades. His introduction to Terry Allen, courtesy of their mutual friend Ryan Bingham, proved to be a pivotal moment, altering Ballew's perspective on life and art. Despite not venturing into songwriting until the age of 37, Ballew views writing as more than just a creative pursuit; it's a means of survival. Now, with his third album, Rio Bravo, set to release everywhere on March 29th, Ballew continues to carve his unique path in the world of music.
Last year with the release of Mightmare’s debut record, I began my exploration of River Shook’s catalog and body of work, which meant a deep dive into the Disarmers catalog. What became immediately obvious to me is that River has always had a substantial power for writing songs with impact. The standout update for me was seeing the maturity in the musicianship and vocal approach to really drive those songs to places that most artists spend late nights agonizing over the details they're hoping to reach. It was simple but without losing any weight or power, it was sharpened and edited down to just hard hitting lyrics coupled with hummable melodies, and it was just what “rock” records should be. The last record River and company produced under the Disarmers moniker was also just an absolute powerhouse. This made me almost hesitant to review Revelations as I was afraid that it wouldn’t hit as hard without the novelty. Well, kind readers, it absolutely still hits like a southern accent tinged indie rock Mack truck head on collision. I shouldn’t be surprised, but somehow, I still am.
