A banner year continues with several excellent new releases.
Lone Justice
Viva Lone Justice
Lone Justice (and McKee solo) is a hill I’ll die on, so I was hoping to love this album of revamped archive tracks. But this is a right mess that doesn’t lean into a range of influences so much as throw way, way too much at the walls. A major disappointment here.
Willie Nelson
Last Leaf On the Tree
Astonishing. That a veteran act, at this point in their career, would release an album that still pushes the genre’s sound forward the way this does is, frankly, without any meaningful precedent. Savvy country and Americana producers must pay close attention here.
Blanco Brown
Back 2 Basics [EP]
His third EP of 2024 lacks his usual charm attack, and it’s his enthusiasm and natural amicability on record that is his primary selling point. So when his performances sound phoned in, there’s really not much to recommend. Here’s to slowing down and refocusing in 25.
Cody Johnson
Leather (Deluxe Edition)
Stick to the original; this turns what was one of the strongest mainstream country albums in recent memory into a bloated, overlong slough thanks to a second disc that offers only one track (the ‘grassy “Georgia Peaches”) up to the first half’s standards. Inessential.
Julie Williams
Tennessee Moon [EP]
A stunning collection of melancholy pop-country foregrounds Williams’ clear-eyed POV as a songwriter and gorgeous vocal tone. She’s overdue for a full-length album, but the thematic focus here on struggling to find her place makes for a record that feels complete.
Lindi Ortega
From the Ether
A singular and peculiar talent, who else but Ortega would take this kind of inspiration from the recent rise of cinematic folk horror? Sinéad O’Connor and PJ Harvey influences are here in the writing, too, as Ortega’s unnerving narratives and aesthetic choices puncture the veil.
Josh Ritter
Heaven, or Someplace as Nice
He remains among our cleverest songwriters, whose command of language always impresses. And the individual tracks here all range from solid to great, but the uniformly lo-fi aesthetic and sluggish tempos make this record seem far longer than its scant 35 minutes.
Joe Nichols
Honky Tonks & Country Songs
The traditionalist production suits his affable delivery quite well; on the better moments, he sounds more like Strait than he ever has. But the songs are uneven, and there are a couple of reactionary tracks that he might mean but sure doesn’t pull off convincingly.
Tish Hinojosa
With a Guitar & a Pen
An album of lovely, empathetic musings on aging and a trailblazing, important career that deserves reappraisal. Her voice is as clear as ever, and her song structures still strike a perfect balance of folk, country traditions that cross literal and figurative borders.
Phoebe White
Cowgirl’s Delight
Not rating because she literally just turned 14, and child prodigies don’t need hype or pressure. She’s a truly gifted yodeler, though: Her control and tone are an absolute marvel. Glad to see ongoing career nurturing from Riders in the Sky, Suzy Bogguss (!!!), and Janis Ian here, too.
As the release calendar slows down– and sees an influx of Christmas music that I’m not going to review– over the next few weeks, I’m planning to revisit some albums I’ve left in the backlog throughout the year. If there are albums that folks would like for me to check out for review, please list them here in the comments!
Re. Lone Justice: Yes, one wishes that they could have gotten back at least somewhat to that mix of punk energy and C&W twang that got them and their lead singer noticed back in 1983 in that San Fernando Valley dive bar by Linda Ronstadt. They were, however, and still are ridiculously underappreciated to this very day (IMHO).
Re. Lindi Ortega: One has to hand it to Lindi, she does have a lot of nerve to go into horror territory. Then again, she also went into late 1960’s/early 1970’s existential Western territory with her 2018 release Liberty. Don’t ever underestimate singular talents like her.
Yes! Liberty was on my year-end for 2018. I’m still undecided if prefer that record to this new one, but they’re both absolutely essential. She’s truly a one of a kind talent.
Really enjoy this feature. Keeps me up to date with a lot of albums coming out. I don’t know you review all these albums without getting burnt out but next year I’ll be trying to keep up.
Appreciate this feedback, Tyler! It’s interesting: Having this format for how I’ve approached reviews has actually decreased my feelings of burnout. I like the challenge of trying to condense reviews into a set character limit while still capturing what I think is most important to say about an album.