Listen to my favorite tracks off each album on my Spotify or Tidal playlists! Updated weekly with all the best new country, Americana, and whatever else I feel like — this is music like your life depends on it.
Ashley McBryde — The Devil I Know
For all of our sakes, here’s to Ashley McBryde’s continuous flouting of mainstream country music. She will probably never rock the boat publicly like Maren and Kacey, but she sure lets the music do the talking for her. The Devil I Know is one of her most coherent albums to date — probably thanks to the skills she built on her last album, the conceptual Lindeville. On Lindeville, McBryde reminded us who country music is for: the freaks and weirdos — even the “queers.” On Devil, McBryde turns that observational eye to herself: the sacrifices she’s made to get as far as she’s had to, her deep flaws on the stunning “Learned to Lie,” and — of course — her iconoclasm. Her critique of the corportization of every aspect of life, “Cool Little Bars,” is as pointed a barb at country radio (and everything else) as any. The soaring guitars and heavier sound are refreshing in a radio climate that demands electronic flourishes and harmless production designed for advertising syncs.
Joan Osborne — Nobody Owns You
Nobody Owns You, Joan Osborne’s latest, is on my shortlist for best album of the year. It’s a shame that this album was released against so many other heavyweights — it really deserved more notice. Songs like “I Should Have Danced More” and the title track bear a prophetic urgency, exhorting us to take more notice of life and appreciate it while we have it. There’s levity here: “Tower of Joy” and “Great American Cities” give us space to absorb that beauty we too often fail to appreciate. Osborne’s muscular songwriting will bowl you over: this is the work of an artist who knows exactly what she’s doing because she’s done it for so long — and she knows she’s good at what she does.
Margo Cilker — Valley Of Heart’s Delight
Margo Cilker was stunning on her first album, and I have been eagerly awaiting her next release. Valley of Heart’s Delight is no disappointment, and there’s a reason it’s on NPR’s 50 Best Albums of 2023. Cilker meditates on home — the people who make it, distance from it, and the history behind it. The rambunctious “I Remember Carolina” encapsulates the frenetic chaos of touring, while “Mother Told Her Mother Told Me” struggles with the idea of being anchored to one place. The album’s highlight, “With the Middle,” interrogates what happens when we’re finally still, and how no matter how often you’re on the move, there’s no way to outrun your demons. But Valley is suffused with a warmth and earthiness, a friendly reminder that all these ups and downs — peaks and valleys, if you will — are just part of life and we can make it through.
Rebecca Porter — Queen of the Local
Rebecca Porter has been a booster of her Virginia country scene even as she began releasing music of her own. I’ve been following her music for a while and her EP Queen of the Local packages her work quite nicely. Porter’s got a honey-smooth voice that feels like it was always destined for traditional country music, and her songs have those sharp lyrical twists all too lacking in, well, any genre, lately. If you like your country music vintage-sounding, then you’re here. And if you’re here, you’ll enjoy this EP and eagerly anticipate Porter’s eventual full album.
No-No Boy — Empire Electric
No-No Boy continues to astound with his deeply personal roots rock that explores the Vietnamese experience on both sides of the Pacific. No-No Boy‘s debut album, 1975 delved into his parents’ and ancestors’ journeys — Empire Electric is more focused on that second generation, the one that is grappling to make sense of living in America in spite of its historical legacies of causing direct harm to one’s family. The music here is thoughtful, penetrating, experimental — and, above all, warm.
Louis Michot — Rêve du Troubadour
Are you ready for some Cajun electronica? Louis Michot (of the Lost Bayou Ramblers) has some for you on Rêve du Troubadour, his first solo album. Bringing on collaborators from across the roots world, from Langhorne Slim to Corey Ledet and Leyla McCalla, you can feel the love exuding from this album.
Lindsay Lou — Queen of Time
Stunning and introspective, Lindsay Lou’s solo album Queen of Time pushing herself relentless as an artist — and coming out on top. This is an album for looking back at where you’ve come from, and finding gratitude for all of it. Sonically, Lou excels at the bluegrass she’s known for, but she also branches out into more experimental structures. The title track (below) blends these two impulses, but the standout song for me by far is “Love Calls,” a meditative experiment in found poetry with recordings of phone calls from someone who sounds like she’s Lou’s grandmother. As her story unfolds, we understand more vividly than any song can illustrate the importance of small acts of kindness. Queen of Time observes that what we do every day is how we build our legacy, and we must consider what that will look like.
You can check out tracks by these artists and more on the Adobe & Teardrops playlist — on Spotify or Tidal.