JP Harris channels Jerry Reed on this week’s best new album.
Mickey Guyton
House On Fire
Gifted as both a writer and vocalist, Guyton operates within the pop-country space at a level that simply outshines most of her contemporaries. Fully 3/4 of these tracks sound like smash singles in a timeline where the country industry isn’t a house on fire itself.
Jerry Douglas
The Set
A globetrotting, genre-spanning effort from an all-time great, this mostly instrumental record centers Douglas’ technical gifts in arrangements that speak to the versatility and common throughlines of acoustic music without ever appropriating.
Gangstagrass
The Blackest Thing On the Menu (Deluxe Edition)
Bonus tracks on this deluxe edition don’t necessarily add to what was already their most cohesive album to date, but I’m not mad at them, either. Still wish the ‘grassy elements were more consistently featured overall here, but truly no one taps this vein better.
Mason Ramsey
I’ll See You in My Dreams
Not particularly good on its own merits, this is at least a substantial sight better than the dreadful EP this kid dropped a year back. So there’s growth, and that matters, but this is still so scattershot that there’s no indication of a stable artistic identity yet.
JP Harris
JP Harris is a Trash Fire
His best record by far, this is a how-to guide to dousing the flames once you’ve realized that both the world and you are fully ablaze. Harris tells that story on what sound like tracks Jerry Reed’d lay down in 2024, but sung by Neil Diamond. Burn baby, burn.
Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway
Into the Wild [EP]
A couple of covers that just don’t work at all (“White Rabbit,” “good 4 u”) bring down a set that would otherwise be a solid, if short, addition to an impressive catalog. More of a disappointment than an outright misfire from a major talent.
Jesse Malin and Friends
Silver Patron Saints
The range of guests on this benefit album speaks to how, quite rightly, his work is highly regarded across the rock and country realms. No one improved on Malin’s originals here, but no one fares poorly. Hoffs (!!), Armstrong are highlights. Strong for what it is.
Chase Rice
Go Down Singin’
Sleaziest of the Bro era continues attempted career atonement / redemption arc by leaning into broad “authenticity” tropes. The songs are better, less misogynistic, yes, which matters. But let’s not all overstate what seems to be the natural ceiling for his skill set.
Zac Brown Band
No Wake Zone
One cover of a song best-known from Lucinda’s Car Wheels On A Gravel Road to suggest the band they could’ve been, and four tracks that are, at best, slightly diminished returns on the type of beachcomber country hit singles they haven’t had in a decade.
Drake White
Low Country High Road
Triumphant return from an artist whose mainstream ascent was derailed by a health crisis. This set draws from a wide range of southern influences, production-wise, and he’s continues to grow as writer of both wit and candor. And God almighty, is he a great singer.
Reyna Roberts
Lost Files
A major step up from last year’s proper debut album, in that the writing is far less strident, though it’s still a bit uneven, quality-wise. Still, every track here sounds like a viable hit in a post-Shaboozey era, and she’s long had the makings of a massive star.
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