I tried to keep the reviews short. That failed. Oh well. Here's eight country rock releases this year. Take the genre label loosely. Some interesting experimental projects here.
LANCO
I have not heard from these guys in a while. It seems they got dropped from their label. Perhaps they resigned somewhere else or maybe they’re independent. It’s hard to know. It seems that once unleashed from the burden of the Nashville meta, they are newly able to lean into a rock influence that falls nicely into their purview. There are a lot of booming anthemic sounds attempted on this short project. As a re-introduction to a band that I forgot about, it comes over quite nicely.
Although the sound is well done and befitting, there is definitely room to grow in regards to the lyricism. There’s a lot of straightforwardness. In combination with the enjoyable-but-not-all-that-creative production choices, it leaves a basic taste in your mouth. I would still encourage giving this a listen, not for the content per se- although it does fit well with a needed late night highway burst of energy- but more to see the new and potentially more real Lanco unleashed.
Abby Hamilton
I did not expect an album like this to come across my radar. I've never heard of Hamilton until recently. The title makes it seem like it’s going to be this overly artistic endeavor. It is. Usually that tends not to work for me, but I saw it reviewed highly by a few outlets and that pushed me over the edge.
With the exploding popularity of Zach Bryan and his indie/folk pop vibe, there has been more push to expand the genre umbrella in that direction. I guess it makes sense. In the 1990s and 2000s, there was a shift to include rock sounds that had not been in the tent. Some would say an expansion, others a reclamation. It seems that this is now happening with a slice of indie rock and folk pop that was popular about 15 years ago. I don't think people were genuinely clamoring for Mumford and Sons to be considered country back in 2010. At best they were viewed as Americana. However, now it seems that is shifting. Noah Kahan gets buzz in country circles and healthy debate has emerged over folk pop in general. It’s the push of the genre and is the general context for this Abby Hamilton record.
#1 Zookeeper (Of The San Diego Zoo) firmly falls into what I would consider Indie rock. I am not sufficiently equipped to detail the nature of the 2023 indie rock scene, but even without that critical context for evaluation, this is a fantastic project. The entire concept and conceit of the record is very meta. Obviously. Yet it does not come across as overly obtuse or navel gazing as so many of these "artistic" projects do. (No, I didn't like Lindeville. Jenny Tolman does it better.) The use of parable allows Hamilton to reflect deeply on pain, love, anxiety, and other hefty emotions. There's a strong relationship and comfort with ideas of confusion. Not everything has a clear answer and that’s OK. Sometimes we don’t have the answers, and we need to live life and see if we develop. It is a very literary project in how concepts unwrap throughout. Enjoyable both on the surface level, as well as with a deep analytical lens. Certainly not for everyone, but definitely one of the brighter spots out of Kentucky this year.
Chris Stapleton
It is quite frustrating that many of the highest profile albums to be released this year are coming out closer to the end of the year. It doesn’t give you a ton of time to see if the album sticks with you. Of course, my decision to review over fifty albums in December doesn't help much for the digestion of all this new music- including this post, twenty-plus 2023 releases have been covered and the month isn't even halfway over- plus there's still a lot more in the drafts.
Chris Stapleton is an artist that although I tremendously enjoy, I don’t find myself returning to his albums as much as I do his singles. Not necessarily the radio singles, but particular songs on his records. For instance, Nashville, Tennessee and Arkansas off of Starting Over. Maybe not the standard favorites, but much enjoyed by me.
This album is both more of the same and a needed change for Stapleton. You know what to expect broadly. Bluesy vocal work, a stripped down southern rock/ blues/ country instrumental, excellent songwriting etc. There is an extremely high level of competence on the record. Every track is executed perfectly. This is all expected with Stapleton. It feels subdued relative to prior work. Very focused on a small handful of topics. Not problems per se, but when operating at such a high level of expectations and execution, quibbles matter.
Often with songwriter turned singer artists, the trees are the focus at the expense of the forest. There is no cohesive narrative going through the record. Each song stands alone with its perspective, not necessarily in conflict, but just independent. Once you grant that you won't be getting a high concept project, as you might have expected from a premier release, then you’re able to view each song on its own. And that is where the project shines.
This single minded perspective has always been Stapleton’s one issue and is the reason why I return to singles over whole albums. This is being penned after my first listen, but I can see a number of songs that will be added to my rotation. Perhaps this album doesn't operate at the highest levels of Stapleton's immensely powerful and touching discography, but it still has a very high ceiling which in concert with a high floor and general top tier execution is going to make it one of the better albums that came out this year. That holds true even with the stacked competition in the Americana / indie country space.
Also, we all know that The Jompson Brothers is his best album.
Jason Aldean
Same as always. Hard rock uptempo, aggressive neutral midtempo, no real surprises. If you liked the last 7-10 iterations you'll like this. Otherwise it doesn't break new ground.
Caleb Lee Hutchinson
Most people that rise to fame on talent shows don’t really go anywhere. If you're trying to pinpoint why the name Caleb Lee Hutchinson sounds vaguely familiar, it's because of American Idol. He rose to popularity on the show because of his fresh faced enthusiasm and deep baritone. It seems he struggled to find his voice post-Idol. He put a few EPs that all seemed to slowly be coalescing around a vision for himself. That truncated era saw him fully maturing and embracing a darker side to his music. It ended up finalizing with a Halloween themed album last year. This year he again released an album, but instead of doubling down and solidifying, he instead decided to stretch himself.
This album is aiming for “galactic” or “cosmic” country. Now this moniker has been attempted in the past on projects as disparate as Tim McGraw's Here On Earth, Kacey Musgraves on Star-crossed, and Sturgill Simpson. To my ears, there's zero commonality between those records, and as such Hutchinson is not so much attaching himself to a particular sub-genre, as he is trying to stake his claim on a heretofore undefined style of country. Bold, if it worked. And it doesn’t.
A big part of what his vision of this cosmic country sound is some requirement for large amounts of vocal effects that take away from his greatest strength as an artist; the aforementioned clear and deep baritone. I understand in rock music, especially country rock, there is this obsession with vocal effects that make the artist sound more intimidating. It has its charm in places (and small doses) but it's used way too much in this project. I think it lost substantially more than it gained. Additionally, some of the more far out sound effects that were inserted to provide more sci-fi feel to the country rock mixture just seem plain weird.
However, as the album progressed, it gets less weird and there were some genuinely fantastic country rock moments. Some outlaw styled songs especially. This is almost more frustrating then a full on experimental swing and miss because the lingering feeling is there was a lot more on the table that was left off.
Look, it's certainly difficult for a fellow to be thrust into the artistic spotlight and only then have to figure out his style. This very well may have been a strong step forward to some eventual goal. I probably won’t return to it, because I find the style grates on the ears. However, the sentiment behind the experiment is intriguing, and who knows, maybe this cosmic country will become the next thing and Hutchinson will have been on the forefront.
The Cadillac Three
I probably wouldn’t even consider this a southern rock project. It's just bombastic and audacious hard boiled rock from perennial rockers The Cadillac Three. They take a ‘90s and ‘00s hard rock sound as a base and offer a tongue in cheek tweak making an infectious and enjoyable listen. The songwriting is a surprising strength, as is the vocal quality although that is less surprising. I particularly enjoy the songs Four Chords & The Proof where they both dabble with cliché and give their own twist. That's indicative of the album as a whole. I've been harsh on The Cadillac Three in the past for being sonically capable and deep, but pairing that with shallow lyrics and themes. They rectify that to some degree on this project.
Muscadine Bloodline
Muscadine Bloodline puts out a lot of content. For me that’s a turn off. Hype spread about Teenage Dixie, but already within a few months it was gone. They since started working on new music and seems they are fine with this slipping into the ether. Pity. Look, that critique is related to the broader context of the project. On to the album proper. This post is way too big already.
As for the album itself, it is charitably a country rock album but realistically, just southern rock. Doesn't mean that it doesn't have charm and rhythm. Melody is a strong part of what the duo lives for.
I have a weird problem with the vocals. It sometimes sounds like the singer, either one of them, sounds like he has marbles in his mouth. Maybe that’s part of a winsome accent, or it's a production choice. As you progress throughout, you notice the vocal quirks less and less and more engaged with the product.
It feels very rooted in the South, but not in a way which is unfocused. Instead it is deeply in touch with small aspects. Certainly the broad strokes of the described lifestyle looks cliche- small town, high school quarterback, prom queen, state championship etc....and that is only the first song! However, the stereotypes get engaged with and fleshed out. They manage to make gunfights and old men not paying taxes feel novel and fresh. Kudos.
The personality isn’t just in the strident and aggressive delivery of the singers, but also in the accompaniment, which is never bare-bones. It’s pulsating and energetic, switches up on a dime, and varied enough that makes it clear actual choice was put into each songs acoutrement. Take the full breakdown that occurs at the end of the closing track or the frenetic energy in Old Man Gillich. Or, my favorite example, when they strip down on Azalea Blooms. That is a crucial track in how the album is sequenced. You have a lot of high energy tracks and then Azalea Blooms cuts the energy immediately, only to re-engage with the uptempo material immediately afterwards. The break really helps digest things. Similar to pairing an acidic vegetable in your sub sandwich.
As it stands, I understand why Muscadine has such a devoted fanbase. They are bursting with energy and personality. They have a clear sense of identity that you can easily connect with. Add an undeniable talent for finding a good riff and melody, and then really extracting as much out of a song as possible and you have a winning combination. I know they are proudly independent and this business strategy has worked well, but it does feel like this album came and went very quickly, and it deserves more than that.
Stephen Wilson Jr.
Wilson’s voice seems tailor made for the ambience attempted here. It’s like a snarly mixture of Kip Moore, Elvie Shane (with Henry standing in for My Boy), and The Cadillac Three lead singer.
Poetic. Dark. Gothic in parts. Arena rock in others. Tortured and struggling. All these are adjectives that come to mind in this unwieldy debut record.
It doesn't sound like a Big Loud record. Good. Their house sound is getting stretched. There's a mashup of grunge, goth, indie, alternative, blues, southern rock, country rock, celtic, pop but it all works. I guess just call it Americana? Each song slots into its most appropriate niche among the bevy and provides a twist or three on the formula. The arena rock song may have strings come in on the chorus. The Appalachian folk song blows up with pop whoops and reverb. Formula with a twist. It's a good way to have a long project not feel like it stretches itself more than its elasticity. Even though IT'S WAY TOO FREAKING LONG.
There's some spots on this record where Wilson gets more open and heart rending then nearly anything I've heard all year. Father's Son. Grief is Only Love is another standout in this regard. Tremendous use of metaphor and vividly colored descriptions. Other times clichés are explored. Sometimes there's more depth given to the topics. Certainly, the accompaniment is more diverse and varied than what cliche is paired with by many other artists, so it maintains interest. Not Letting Go is a superb example of this with a rock opera arrangement surrounding a pretty basic love story.
The record is chock full of evocative lines. Novocaine on the crazy (from the song You. Cliche love song with a twist yet again) is one that stuck out with me. Unfortunately, I didn't write them down when I heard them and most of the songs don't have their lyrics uploaded in Spotify yet. There are plenty of descriptors that feel big and majestic. Sometimes that's only surface deep and it can feel poetic without actually saying much. Other times it really lands the flowery but deep balance. Not easy to do.
The closer track is a standout. Unlike most of the album which meanders about without following a particular narrative path, the closer does an excellent job wrapping things together. It's also another area where the religious undertones of the project come to the forefront. This is religion as a part of one's daily life and internal workings. Not in a preaching or gospel sense. As most of the project does, the religious details feel authentic to the picture being created and don't take over. The same is with the angst, aggression, search for stability, doom and gloom and all the other emotions and themes that dominate this record.
Dunno why I decided to do a full years worth of reviews in two months. It's been fun so far. Got at least three or four more posts worth of rough drafts to go plus a long list of stuff I haven't gotten around to yet. Looking forward.
Thanks for reading,
Joe
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