American Aquarium, Ella Langley, and Tony Trischka are the biggest highlights among the ten new releases reviewed this week.
Ella Langley
hungover
There have been plenty of strong mainstream country debuts this year, and Langley might just have the best one yet. Heavy on traditional instrumentation but with an ear for a mean pop hook, too, she learned all the right lessons from early Lambert and applies them with a unique voice and POV.
49 Winchester
Leavin This Holler
Their finest record to date, this finds all of their influences coming together into an aesthetic that is uniquely Appalachian and is honed to their specific talents, and it ought to be the album to break them to the level of an American Aquarium or Silverada.
Orville Peck
Stampede
Commands a who’s who of collaborators to create a sprawling, messy vision of modern country. Reprehensible Diplo appearance aside, it’s a wisely chosen roster, too, but some of the weaker tracks do end up getting trampled by the rest of the herd.
Kacey Musgraves
Deeper into the Well
Cynically, this exists to put her back on Grammy voters’ radar. More charitably, the seven new tracks are closer to her best work than fully half of the original version of this record, which did not need to be longer. Editable to a less GOOPy playlist, at least.
Waylon Wyatt
til the sun goes down
Another week, another new Zach Bryan acolyte to catalog. This one’s got a strong ear for song structure and melody, and he drops the occasional lyric that competes above his age bracket, but these vocals are rough. Real promise here, but also real work to put in.
Tony Trischka
Earl Jam
A titan of progressive ‘grass enlists A-list collaborators (Bush! Fleck! Ferrell! Tuttle! Strings!) to join him in fleshing out his transcriptions of long-lost Scruggs & Hartford jam sessions, and everyone involved rises to the task. Inspired and essential work.
Brian Ruby
Found & Lost [EP]
A catchy as all get-out modern pop-country breakup record. Like some of the best country, what sounds like pure escapism belies some deep hurt. Ruby’s songs queer genre tropes in subversive ways, too, and he’s gifted with a distinctive baritone of real range and power.
Amanda Kate Ferris
Rope the Wind
Another trad-country standout who’s driven by sincere affection for the genre rather than by trend-hopping. The vibe here is “early Lee Ann Womack record,” and the vocal talent deserves an audience far beyond the TX market.
Drew Parker
Camouflage Cowboy
Go-to songwriter for a slew of A-listers finally issues his own debut, and he just doesn’t have the vocal chops, distinctive style or POV to make that next leap himself. That didn’t stop, say, Cole Swindell, so who knows if it’ll stop Parker. It’s just Music Row mid.
American Aquarium
The Fear of Standing Still
Fascinating for how the band leans into a masc-coded brand of bar-room ready country rock while challenging toxic masculinity’s norms about how men are supposed to express their emotions and interiority. BJ Barham’s headiest and catchiest set of songs to date.
Thanks you for reviewing Amanda’s album (I’m going to take a little credit- laff)! It is an amazing record and I agree she should be known from coast to coast.
Yes! I had the album in my queue of new releases to consider, but I did bump her up the list after your comment last week, and I couldn’t be happier to have done so!
I wasn’t sure if my comment or email made it to anyone. Glad it did and you enjoyed the album. The opening lines to Rope the Wind are killer.
The Ella Langley album is killer!!