When the youth use the phrase “say it with my whole chest,” it means that they are speaking sincerely. For Willi Carlisle, this metaphor applies with all its meanings: Declaiming like a medieval bard on his evocative new album, Critterland, […]
On Desert Pavement, ISMAY crafts a world that exists somewhere in between past and present, reality and fantasy, country and city. The title was inspired by the bluegrass lifer’s interest in cowboy poetry. Desert pavement is a natural phenomenon described […]
On Current, Danielle Howle displays her expertise at capturing music’s spirit. That’s not a vague cliché. Howle opens her album with the lyrics “Why’d I let all of that outta my mouth / Don’t you know I feel insane?” While […]
Colin Cutler’s life has many threads: a former Pentecostal Christian, a military veteran, a troubadour who bummed rides across Europe, and a community college instructor, it all leads to one magnificent tapestry of roots music on Tarwater. The album is […]
Lots of artists emerged from lockdown with a newfound sense of purpose, perhaps a new level of introspection or with a new style or instrument. This is important, but, if we’re being honest with ourselves, we’re all a little worse […]
Jenny Owen Youngs has lived through just about every possible human experience since her last full-length album in 2012, An Unwavering Band of Light. Eleven years, a marriage, a divorce, a second marriage, and a baby later, Owen Youngs returns […]
From the first second of All Bad, Nick Shoulders wants you to know this isn’t your grandpa’s country music. The album’s instrumental overture, “Hoarse Whisperer,” begins with a phaser blast and a sample of a menacing deep voice declaring “So […]
Saltwater Hank brings country music to its roots on G̱al’üünx wil lu Holtga Liimi, an album written entirely in Sm’algyax, the language of the Ts’msyen people of Kxeen (Prince Rupert, British Columbia). Sm’algyax is older than Ancient Greek, but today […]
Peter One’s story is intrinsic to his new album, Come Back to Me — moreso than most. This is One’s first album in 30 years. After attaining stardom in his native country, Cote d’Ivoire, One (Pierre-Evrard Tra) fled the civil […]
Five years in the making, Angelica Rockne’s sophomore effort, The Rose Society, is worth the wait. Her debut, Queen of San Antonio, cemented Rockne as a stalwart of cosmic country. Rockne’s move to Los Angeles made sense, and The Rose […]
