Author: H. R. Gertner

Devon Church – Strange Strangers Nothing is beautiful and nothing is ugly, everything is a mix on Devon Church’s Strange Strangers. Church wrestles with the search for meaning in a world that seems devoid of purpose over a series of neo-folk songs that combine a reverence for traditionalism with a sense of the beyond via […]

Rayland Baxter – If I Were a Butterfly Rayland Baxter first appeared on my radar with 2015’s Invisible Man; at that time, I didn’t catch the bug. I found Invisible Man to lean too much into an 80’s Paul Simon vibe as it danced a fine line between silliness and sincerity. Wide Awake in 2018 […]

Bonny Light Horseman – Rolling Golden Holy On an album described as “a trust fall into glory,” Bonny Light Horseman (Anaïs Mitchell, Josh Kaufman, and Eric D. Johnson) find deeper connection and renewed comradery as they create a batch of songs that fit neatly in the folk tradition of yesteryear or tomorrow. Rolling Golden Holy […]

Paul Cauthen – Country Coming Down “Hot dawg holly golly dag nabbit damn son,” Paul Cauthen reaches for a big time on Country Coming Down. Embracing equal parts humor and heartache hidden in humor, as well as the disappearing borders between genres, Cauthen delivers an album equally indebted to backroads country as it is to […]

The Band of Heathens – Remote Transmissions, Vol. 1 On Remote Transmissions, Vol. 1, The Band of Heathens bring on a series of guests for a collection of covers reminiscent of recent Shovels & Rope Broken Jukebox series. Playing to their bluesy rock strengths, this collection bristles with bar band energy and road dog delight. […]

Del McCoury Band – Almost Proud I started life down at the bottom And there were those who kept me there I did things that I’m not proud of To see if anybody cared That’s the wrong kind of attention I was young and dumb and loud Now I’m quite and I’m older Would you […]

Shovels & Rope — Manticore Like the mythical beast bearing the album’s title, Shovels & Rope have always existed as an amalgamation of disparate sounds and influences that meld into something greater than their parts. The Manticore is a legendary animal combing the head of a man, body of a lion, and tail of a […]

The Infamous Stringdusters — Toward the Fray The Infamous Stringdusters turn their bluegrass, jam, and rock stylings on darker vistas while maintaining promise of redemption on Toward the Fray. Album art heralding a postapocalyptic future in its haunting imagery belies the primarily buoyant tones that hide inside as if hope burns eternal in the human […]