The Backlog: End of November
Twenty albums. Expect to see some of these on a year end list coming soon to a theater near you.
Welcome to the last (or maybe second to last, we’ll see) installation of The Backlog. It’s cleaning out the barrel season. Most of the records here are either really artistic pieces that took a long time to digest properly, or they are recent/ smaller releases that just came across my radar. Should have been two separate posts, but the year is running out. Oh well.
Regardless, it has been a fantastic run with album reviews this year. The current total is right around 130 albums! That’s far more than I could have expected when this feature started. Every year, things evolve. We’ll see what it looks like next year. Probably similar, but I have the inkling of an idea developing that will possibly change the formatting slightly. Remains to be seen if I go through with it.
As always, a reminder of the country music subgenre number system.
1- Traditional Country
2- Country Rock
3- Modern Country
4- Pop Country
5- Southern Pop
Carter Faith- The Aftermath
Tracks/Time: 5/16
Subgenre: 4, 3
Sweet and whispery vocals teeter on edge of losing control. Think c-tier Ariana Grande. Not sure how it'd transfer to a live setting. Allison Krauss' feature is a clear stand out. There's potential here, but seasoning is needed in all aspects.
Favorite: Blue Bird
Least Favorite: The Aftermath
Casey Donahew- Never Not Love You
Tracks/Time: 17/1:00
Subgenre: 3, 2, 1
A misstep from the long time Texas stalwart. Just because the music has an organic base doesn't mean that the ideas bandied about don’t require creativity. Charitably it could be considered Texas country easy listening.
Favorite: Tommy Barrett, When She Kissed Me, Another Beach
Least Favorite: Messed Up Alone, Oklahoma
Jenna Paulette- Horseback
Tracks/Time: 13/42
Subgenre: 1, 3, 2
Eagerly awaited follow up from last year's debut. Her trademark jauntiness is still on display, but that doesn't stop the reflective moments from shining through. Texas country is a tough landscape to break through, but the product here is distinctive enough to do so.
Favorite: 3 Kings, Chasing Whiskey, A Hill To Die On
Least Favorite: Hang Your Hat
Dan Smalley- The State Of Country Music
Tracks/Time: 13/41
Subgenre: 1
Under-the-radar traditionalist with a wickedly talented pen. Storyteller extraordinaire, Smalley illuminates more than just his own story. He delivers dashing prose, illustrating the sad and the sunny, the everyday and the extraordinary with aplomb and aspirational relatability. Unlike many a songwriter turned singer, the Brad Paisley-esque vocal chops are usually capable of delivering on the promise of the material.
Favorite: Mr. Jerry's Ghost, Only A Girl, Sleeping With Something Else, What Does The World Expect From Me
Least Favorite: Born and Raised (On the Bayou)
Zachary Lucky- The Wind
Tracks/Time: 10/33
Subgenre: 1
Soft-spoken Canadian traditionalist offers a singer-songwriter friendly approach to the warm organic trad tones that have been steadily increasing in popularity. Lucky sketches out the stories of a traveling musician and the accumulated perspective and brings it to life with his voice and not much else. Just a warning. It’s very mellow. Many would call it sleep inducing. Some themes get hit one time too many for a short record. Only real critique I can come up with.
Favorite: Water In The Fuel, Wild Rose County, Wrong Side of Town, The Wind
Least Favorite: Do You Still Miss Me (When You’re Stoned)
Cameron Allbright- Any Part Of Life
Tracks/Time: 8/35
Subgenre: 1, 3
Modern Americana twist on Texas singer songwriter. Like a Hayes Carll mixed with Zach Bryan if he was inspired by Leon Bridges. Clear vocals cut through the myriad types of production that the songs are wrapped in. Capable of reaching back and belting out a rock track, Allbright prefers to stick to the softer Americana side of things. A suitable fit. Straightforward and revealing lyrical approach conveys concise and comprehensible concepts. A sophisticated entry into the Texas scene.
Favorite: Supposed To Be, Reasons, Preaching To The Choir
Least Favorite: Clean (sticks out like a sore thumb. Good song, just not meant for this album)
Willie Nelson- Last Leaf On The Tree
Tracks/Time: 13/51
Subgenre: 1, 3
Late stage Willie is a gift. The perspective on his recent albums is not only exceptional but rare. Chewing on hefty themes of life and death always are weighty, but when expressed through the throat of a 90 year-old Nelson, it hits differently. This cuts a slightly different note with more experimental moments coloring the mixture of originals and covers. The production choices usually gently work around Nelson's aged tone. Sometimes not. A worthwhile listen regardless.
Favorite: Last Leaf, House Where No One Lives, Color Of Sound.
Least Favorite: Are You Ready For The Country
Cody Johnson- Leather (Deluxe Edition)
Tracks/Time: 25/1:26
Subgenre: 1, 3, 2
Tacking thirteen songs onto a deluxe seems like a lazy way of hiding a mediocre album. If the material is good enough to stand on its own, they would have released it as part of a proper album. Maybe three of these songs thematically expand on last year’s excellent Leather. The rest clearly are discarded cuts that should have stayed in the studio archives.
Favorite: C’mon Cowgirl, Georgia Peaches, The Mustang
Least Favorite: How Do You Sleep At Night?
David Serby- Low Hanging Stars
Tracks/Time: 10/35
Subgenre: 1, 2
Plainspoken vintage country vibes. Mellow and classic attitude extends equally to lyrics, vocals and production. A non essential, but enjoyable listen. The songs don't have enough to have been hits in 1960, nor are they in 2024. But there's nothing wrong with pleasing neotraditional background music.
Favorite: Another Chance To Dream, Lonely Motel Nights, I Bought The Ring, Is It Lonely In Here
Least Favorite: She Ain’t Changed At All
Angel White- GHOST OF THE WEST: VOLUME 1
Tracks/Time: 7/21
Subgenre: 4, 1
A unique entry here. Tough to pin down. Kinda Red Dead Redemption x Yellowstone core I guess. A creative take on modern outlaw pop-fusion. Nice voice and intriguing way of approaching song concepts. Production gets in the way too much.
Favorite: IF YOU’RE GONNA LEAVE, 2733
Least Favorite: LONG WAY UP
Riley Green- Don’t Mind If I Do
Tracks/Time: 18/1:02
Subgenre: 3, 2, 1
Well, it appears his smaller album from this year was not a harbinger of a more creative and small scale project coming down the pipe. Instead, everything got shoved into a colossal pile of essentially indistinguishable mush. It sounds fine, but so does a karaoke track.
Favorite: That’s My Mistake, Jesus Saves, Good Morning From Mexico
Least Favorite: Reel Problems (ft. Luke Bryan), Too Early To Drink, Alcohall Of Fame, Worst Way
Junior Sisk- If There’s a Will, There’s a Way
Tracks/Time: 10/31
Subgenre: 1
Veteran picker doing top tier Bluegrass playing. Sometimes with these sorts of records, the picking and strumming can be overemphasized at the expense of the songs and stories. Generally not the case here.
Favorite: Long Hard Road (The Sharecropper Song), Memories Of Mother, Old Cold Shoulder
Least Favorite: Wild and Wicked World
Jamey Johnson- Midnight Gasoline
Tracks/Time: 12/49
Subgenre: 1, 2
Long awaited return does not disappoint. Mostly vaguely outlaw mid tempo tunes with a distinct focus on songwriting. It succeeds in both setting a vibe as well as communicating clear ideas. At over four minutes long, the average song is lengthier than most. It gives the songs room to breathe. An excellent choice for an album with so much to say. Johnson has been missed. This shows why.
Favorite: Bad Guy, What A View, Someday When I’m Old, 21 Guns, No Time Like The Past
Least Favorite: Saturday Night in New Orleans or Trudy (are two of these really necessary on an otherwise more subdued record?)
Meghan Patrick- Golden Child
Tracks/Time: 18/1:03
Subgenre: 2, 3, 4
Meandering melded genre magnum opus that carves clear, concise conceptions of Patrick's personal perspectives. Remarkably relatable remarks are rooted in real and raw reflections. Fiery, frank, feminist, weighty, wordy, witty in disposition, the details bely the stereotypes albums like this often fall into.
Favorite: Boy Who Cried Drunk, Iron Man, Other Side Of 25
Least Favorite: Blood From A Stone
Owen Riegling- Bruce County (From The Beginning)
Tracks/Time: 11/41
Subgenre: 4, 2
Canadian fella showcases high energy take on modern country. Any particular style of pop inflected country gets a moment in the sun. The execution is not equally spread. As a collection of demo tracks, it is suggestive of talent and flair, but beyond that, little cohesion exists to raise this to an album. It might as well be a playlist. Plenty of fun moments, but crucially they are all singular.
Favorite: Moonshine, Love (The Sweater Song), Old Dirt Roads
Least Favorite: Bud Light The Way
Joe Nichols- Honky Tonks and Country Songs
Tracks/Time: 11/37
Subgenre: 1, 2, 3
Veteran act straddling the line between aiming for spins low down on radio and embracing the reality of his stardom being in the rear view mirror. Sounds as excellent as he always has. Firmly places himself into the ‘00s trad leaning sounds that he made his bread and butter on. Result is an adequate, but forgettable addition to his overall discography. Not much broader vision exists on the record.
Favorite: Bottle It Up, Hard Fires (ft. Stevie Woodward), Better Than You (ft. Annie Bosko)
Least Favorite: On and On
Sam Barber- Restless Mind
Tracks/Time: 28/1:34
Subgenre: 2, 3, 1
Long, meandering, and bloated. Charming nonetheless. Barber demonstrates a skill for crystalling moments and feelings of youth. The confusion, the impulse driven life choices, the excess of emotion all clearly come through, even if the voice itself can be sonically incoherent at times. The organic neotrad meets folk pop sound is truly the sound taking over Gen Z playlists. This album, stretched as thin as it does, showcases the highs and lows of this subgenre's production idiosyncrasies.
Favorite: Restless Mind (ft. Avery Anna), Due Time, Will You Be There, Down The Road, Morning Time, Indigo (ft. Avery Anna), Different Kind Of Pain, Streetlight, Straight and Narrow, Home Ain’t Far
Least Favorite: Man You Raised, Bet On My Ghost, Evil Place, Never Mine
Maddie & Tae- What A Women Can Do
Tracks/Time: 6/17
Subgenre: 3, 4, 1
Funky vibes and ballads mix easily on this (mostly) lighthearted EP. Hook forward, it's the same formula they've had for years now. Nothing here is going to change their status quo. If you like it, then it's a good addition to a strong discography. If you've never gotten bitten with the Maddie and Tae bug, then it's another installation of good but not great, somewhat forgettable fare from the duo.
Favorite: Heart They Didn’t Break
Least Favorite: Free Like
Joe Stamm- Memoirs
Tracks/Time: 12, 42
Subgenre: 1, 2
Spare acoustics accompany the incredibly detailed and hauntingly enchanting poetry. Prose raised up to the level of fine art. Character, thoughts, feeling, and moments brought to technicolor life by an Appalachian man with a raspy voice. Think Shane Smith mixed with Charles Wesley Godwin. An awe inspiring work of art. Builds on top of the exceptional EP released earlier in the year.
Favorite: Cricket Song, When The Lilacs Bloom, Grandma’s Bible
Least Favorite: Wrong Side of Town
Ella Langley- hungover
Tracks/Time: 14/45
Subgenre: 1, 3, 4
Channeling early career Miranda, Langley takes her distinctive and soon to be characteristic rich-with-a-touch-of-sharpness vocal work and puts in lengthy work on a traditional leaning with pop hook earworm energy record. A fantastic introduction. Country has seen a good number of female artists debut with some buzz, Langley might have the clearest sense of artistic identity of any of those big names thus far.
Favorite: you look like you love me (ft. Riley Green), monsters, closest to heaven
Least Favorite: love you tonight
Thank You. On to December!
-Joe