Sam Stoane leads another strong week.
The SteelDrivers
Outrun
The through-line of outlaws– of both the legal and spiritual varieties– in the characters here makes for a loose concept album that is perfectly-suited for this outfit’s rough-hewn, forceful brand of bluesy ‘grass. Their best, most cohesive album in some time.
Sam Stoane
Tales of the Dark West
Stunning. Imagines an “& Western” inspired Ashley Monroe album as much for Stoane’s barbed wire-sharp, melancholy songwriting as for how her plaintive vocal timbre recalls Monroe’s. The stripped-down production keeps the focus fully on Stoane’s considerable gifts.
Missy Raines & Allegheny
Love & Trouble
Quite a tear she’s been on, with this coming right on the heels of– and arguably surpassing– one of 2024’s best-picked Bluegrass albums. The instrumentation’s always unassailable, but Raines continues to deepen her skill set as a vocalist on this collection.
Kyle McKearney
To the River
Canadian’s brand of Americana is hefty, leaning into barroom-ready arrangements that have a real wallop. The narratives don’t always warrant the bluster, but he wouldn’t sound at all out of place on a playlist with Luke Combs, Lainey Wilson, or RCS. Quite catchy stuff here.
Madison Hughes
All That I Am
Did I expect a studied, sharply-written album of vintage alt-country from a former The Voice contestant? I surely did not. Hughes’ stylistic range impresses as much as her smoky vocal tone or her confessional songwriting. A self-described late bloomer makes a winning debut.
Bryce Leatherwood
Bryce Leatherwood
When the bottom falls out of the 90s country resurgence, it will be due to acts like this who can imitate the sound without truly hearing the music. He sings dead-on Blake Shelton, and the songs range from openly misogynist (“God Made”) to mostly passable radio fodder.
And this is the guy whose single, “Hung Up on You,” is not the Fountains of Wayne cover that someone with far greater taste and skill will someday have the wherewithal to record.
Sonia Leigh
Songs About Ghosts
Foregrounds queer experiences without apology in songs that show a real facility with country and folk conventions. The range of influences is impressive, but not all of the aesthetic shifts are so seamless. Some of the vocals are rough, too, but there’s still a lot to like here.
Adam Chaffins
Trailer Trash [EP]
I in no way trusted this cover or title, but do Chaffins and producer Frank Rogers ever deliver. The arrangements are rhythm-forward and unapologetically twangy, his writing is savagely funny, and damned if he can’t sing real pretty, too. Bring on the album.
Esther Rose
“Want”
The aesthetic is early Clem Snide for her lo-fi, twangy indie-rock, but her songwriting replaces Eef Barzelay’s ironic remove with deeply-felt, incisive writing about precise forms of desire. As ever, she does such wonderfully unexpected things with melody.
Tyler Braden
devil and a prayer
Debut album exceeds expectations and what a lot of his peers on the “Buttrock Country” axis are heaving out of their adenoids. The Kaitlin Butts (!!!) collaboration’s an obvious keeper, but so are the tracks that show an actual grasp of rhythm. More Luke Combs than Nate Smith here.
Jenny Mitchell
Forest House
An album about wanting a house with a crowded table; the warmth comes from Mitchell’s deep well of empathy and her spectacular voice as it does from a fireplace. The characters that she makes space for on this set are an eclectic bunch w great conversation starters.
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