ALBUM REVIEW: Charley Crockett Offers Keen Observations on ‘$10 Cowboy’

Albums such as Welcome to Hard Times, Music City USA, and his last release, The Man from Waco, highlight Charley Crockett’s unique meld of the tragic, the wistful, and the satirical. With his 13th album, $10 Cowboy, he offers his most fully realized set. Occurring as a cross between Hank Williams, a low-key carnival announcer, and the Coen brothers’ Buster Scruggs, Crockett has perfected his craft: $10 Cowboy is a 2024 standout.

The title song combines lounge-y synths, ringing acoustic guitars, and hyper-catchy hooks. Grounded in a vintage mix, the tune also exudes a semi-surreal vibe. This is Nashville meets Las Vegas; imagine a Grand Ole Opry production scripted by David Lynch with advice from the ghosts of Roy Rogers and Gene Autry.

“America,” meanwhile, points to Crockett’s soul and R&B influences, including a dance-y beat and sax part that owes as much to Maceo Parker as it does to Muscle Shoals. When Crockett sings, “America I love you / and I fear you sometimes,” he could be adopting the voice of an immigrant struggling to embrace “the dream” or stepping up as a spokesperson for someone who has spent years laboring but doesn’t have much to show for it. The piece is topical, modish — a tribute to the hard-working and unsung — without being heavy-handed or overtly political.

On the unshakeable chorus of “Hard Luck & Circumstances,” Crockett’s drawl is complemented by an upbeat drum part, shimmering synth chords, and perfectly placed backup vocals courtesy of Lauren Cervantes and Angela Miller. With “Good at Losing,” Crockett continues to offer alluring vocals and hooks, his voice accented by warm swathes of violin and cello.

“Diamond in the Rough,” with its chugging guitars, finds Crockett fantasizing about finding his “jewel of the night.” On “Ain’t Done Losing Yet,” he offers his take on the drinking and gambling life, addressing how the things we do to lessen our pain can actually perpetuate it, how distractions only serve their purpose for a short time.

Brimming with simple yet nuanced images, “City of Roses” lands as a portrait of an idyllic locale, on one hand, and a transcendent vision of purity or paradise on the other. “Lead the Way” is built around a synthy riff and Crockett’s echoey vocal. Seamlessly merging country, easy-listening, and folk, the piece conjures Glen Campbell at his most ethereal, Neil Diamond experimenting with dreampop, Father John Misty playing the karaoke singer in some smoke-filled bar on the Honky Tonk Highway.

Throughout $10 Cowboy, Crockett proves himself an exemplary melodist and unmistakable singer, projecting a persona — downhome yet worldly-wise, no-frills yet poetic, stoic yet sincere — that eludes simple categorization. Drawing from broad sources, Crockett seamlessly integrates various atmospheres, tones, timbres, and poses, all the while remaining loyal to the country genre.

Charley Crockett’s $10 Cowboy is out April 26 via Son of Davy/Thirty Tigers.