AHI, Josh Mitcham, and the War and Treaty are the best of this week’s efforts.
The Delines
Mr. Luck & Ms. Doom
A few moments when it feels like they’re condescending to their well-drawn characters, but most of this duo’s songwriting impresses for its balance of the themes spelled out in the album title. The low-key, jazzy arrangements are a good time, too.
Sam Grow
Winfield
In the current mainstream, there are certainly far worse things to sound like than “early Luke Combs, with about 2/3 the vocal capacity.” There’s a base level of talent here to elevate him above most of his peers, and maybe that’ll develop into more than what’s here.
Colin Vincent
Rodeo Underground
It’s all pretty nakedly derivative, but I can forgive that when the results are as catchy and engaging as this. The best moments here recall Wills Hoge and Kimbrough, and there’s a heavy throughline of mid-aughts indie-pop.
Wilder Woods
Curioso
Perhaps unsurprising that this frequently settles into early-aughts Hot AC. If someone’s nostalgic for Snow Patrol (or his NEEDTOBREATHE era), it ain’t me. He fares far better on the tracks that foray into power-pop and twangy Americana (“Devil in my Eyes.”)
Graham Barham
Oil Money [EP]
What we’re not going to do is let, “Bro country was actually pretty good,” take root as revisionist history in what’s already a shitty year for humanity, because the direct result is a po-faced c. 2004 hip-hop album by a charisma vortex of a white man. Utter cringe.
The War and Treaty
Plus One
To date, their songs haven’t consistently been worthy of their singing. That’s not the case here: Every song on this record hits, as does the wide-ranging production, and it lets the two finest vocalists in contemporary country show what they can really do.
Horsebath
Another Farewell
If I want to listen to The Byrds’ Sweetheart of the Rodeo, I will just do that. But this is a *very* good impression of that landmark record’s aesthetic. Clearly, Horsebath is a talented band; this is just too derivative on its own merit.
AHI
The Light Behind the Sun
Absolutely lovely. A collection of melodic, hook-forward folk-pop songs that focus on authentic human connections as a source of joy. If I don’t share AHI’s optimism in this exact cultural moment, I still appreciate the sentiment, the sincerity, and the *great* singing here.
Josh Mitcham
A Few Cries and a Laugh
Not all of KY’s brilliant country acts hail from the hollers. Mitcham’s sharply-drawn narratives are wise, wise-ass in equal measure and draw from a wide range of country styles. The best moments here remind a whole lot of Todd Snider (!) at his twangiest, lo-est lo-fi.
Cameron Sacky Band
Quicksand
Imagines a twangy reboot of the early-aughts alt-pop bands: Like a Southern-fried Phantom Planet. The vibes are good, and they have a good sense of melody, but the songwriting is mostly pedestrian, and the lead vocals are *rough*. Promising, but needs polish.
…mr. barham’s album cover is giving the “farcethemusic.com” gang quite a run for their money with that one.
if horsebath’s sound aestetics are a pretty decent impression of the byrds sound, their cover art evokes impressions of picasso’s “guernica”, partly. copyhorses?
on a totally different note: has anybody seen a comment of “mark from minnesota” lately, or is he perhaps continuing his “just playing possum”-style hiatus from the country universe for much longer, after the vikings stalled once more so disapointingly in the play-offs?