Liv Greene and Amythyst Kiah lead this week’s new releases.
Kelsea Ballerini
PATTERNS
Notable that the least successful tracks here are those that lose the pop-country signifiers and fall into a more genre-less liminal space, and the album feels uncertain about making a full pivot away from country. Writing’s more uneven than on her recent records, too.
The Oak Ridge Boys
Mama’s Boys
An uneven collection of songs about “mama,” but the best tracks fully hold up against their prime era. In full harmony, they still sound fantastic, but there’s some unbalanced mixing whenever there’s a “lead” vocal, which is especially notable with the new (very good) tenor, Ben James.
Amythyst Kiah
Still + Bright
In every way that matters, this is an album that’s at once Kiah’s most accessible and most progressive. Walker does career-best production-work here without pulling focus from Kiah’s powerful singing and politically, personally ferocious songwriting. Essential.
Noeline Hofmann
Purple Gas
A tremendous debut from someone who can ink an indelible image and turn a surprising phrase. Unafraid to foreground genre signifiers or to sing a melody with an actual range, she’s a true standout in a banner year for new singer-songwriters.
Jovin Webb
Drifter
The blues licks and songwriting tropes here are perhaps too rote to stand out in what’s been a phenomenal year for southern blues records like this. But there’s nothing ordinary about Webb’s voice: He elevates this material and will be a genre titan when he takes more risks.
Various Artists
Can’t Steal My Fire: The Songs of David Olney
Especially by the standards of tribute albums, this set impresses for the consistency of the assembled performances; McCrary Sisters, Anana Kaye, Townes Van Zandt (!!!) tracks are the highlights among the solid renditions of Olney’s sturdy proto-Americana songs.
Liv Greene
Deep Feeler
Lord, that title is the damned truth. These songs cut marrow-deep, and with a marvelous economy of language. Greene proudly wears the influence of some of the all-time finest songwriters, and she’s an emotive, intuitive vocalist. A true wonder of introspection.
Riley Green
Don’t Mind if I Do
Every bit as indistinct as three-fourths of the men getting airplay right now, he translated a bit of MAGA-baiting controversy a few years back into a bigger base than some of his peers. So this record sounds more expensive than others of its ilk, if no better in quality.
Benjamin Tod
Shooting Star
A lot to like here in terms of the range of genre styles Tod clearly understands at a deep level. The underlying braggadocio, in contrast, doth-protest-too-much after a while. And his voice– think a more nasal Colin Meloy– can be a hard sell. One to watch, though.
Tiera Kennedy
Rooted
Her singing voice is perhaps a bit thin when compared to her powerful songwriting voice, but she’s long been another WOC whose inclusion would immediately elevate the mean quality of the country mainstream. Her knack for a pop(-country) hook shines on this set.
Leave a Reply