Jesse Correll – Inner Shibori (Self-Released) Jesse Correll has a new album out, Inner Shibori, which he co-produced with Anne McCue. Referencing the unusual title, Correll says “Shibori is a traditional Japanese dyeing technique where a pattern is made by folding and binding fabric, dyeing it, and then releasing the bind and pressure to reveal […]
Grady Spencer & the Work – Wait (Self-Released) Wait is a pretty apt title for Grady Spencer & the Work’s latest LP. In 2020, Spencer finally quit his 60-hour-a-week day job in construction to focus on his music career full time and filled up the calendar with tour dates. And then the pandemic hit and […]
Continue Reading
Keb Mo – Good To Be (Rounder Records) For more than a decade now, Blues/Americana great Keb’ Mo’ has been living in Nashville, but his native Compton, California was always home. With his latest, Good To Be, Mo’ manages to connect the two seamlessly. Recorded in both cities – including setting up equipment in Mo’’s […]
Continue Reading
The Hag: The Life, Times, And Music of Merle Haggard by Marc Eliot (Hachette Books) In what will surely become the definitive biography of the complicated country legend Merle Haggard, journalist Marc Eliot takes an almost academic look at the highly influential musician’s life from troubled kid to San Quentin prisoner to national country music […]
Continue Reading
The Mother Hips – Glowing Lantern (Blue Rose Music) The title of The Mother Hips’ latest LP, Glowing Lantern, is a whole lot more than an afterthought. “The glowing lantern is a universal symbol for sanctuary,” says Mother Hips co-founder Tim Bluhm. “That’s what we wanted this album to be: a warm safe place to […]
Continue Reading
Beaumonster by Jesse Dayton (Hachette Books) Jesse Dayton – along with being a musical chameleon – just may be the Forrest Gump of Americana (though I expect he might bristle at that genre classification). In his fantastic memoir, Beaumonster, the Beaumont, TX-born musician, actor, director, jack of all trades shares stories of growing up in […]
Continue Reading
Various Artists – Highway Butterfly: The Songs of Neal Casal (The Neal Casal Music Foundation & Royal Potato) Neal Casal may not have been a household name to the casual music fan, but when he passed away in 2019 it was clear just how much of an impact he had on fellow musicians with tributes […]
Continue Reading
Willie Nelson – The Willie Nelson Family (Legacy Recordings) On Willie Nelson’s – and I’m guessing here, six hundredth album? – the formerly redheaded stranger and quite possibly America’s greatest musical export churns out another dozen tracks, mostly covers, songs he’s recorded before and many he’s been playing live for years, and it still manages […]
Continue Reading
Neal Francis – In Plain Sight (ATO Records) Channeling everyone from Harry Nilsson to Dr. John, Neal Francis’ sophomore effort – the dreamy, creatively experimental In Plain Sight – draws on everything from Greek mythology to broken hearts for inspiration. And the result is almost always eclectically sublime. The piano-heavy album continues the trajectory of […]
Continue Reading
Legendary Shack Shakers – Cockadoodledeux (Alternative Tentacles) Twenty-five years ago, armed with banjos and mandolins, a slick rockabilly look and a punk rock ethos, the Legendary Shack Shakers came together in Paduca, Kentucky and confused the shit out of a lot of folks. They played just like the sons of Gene Vincent and Jerry Lee […]
Continue Reading