CD Reviews

Buddy and Julie Miller
In The Throes

Buddy Miller and Julie Miller, that unusual Americana power couple, don't sound like they're particularly in the kind of throes suggested by this "In The Throes" album title. There's a lot of hope – especially gospel message hope – contained on the married ...

Brothers Osborne
Brothers Osborne

There are no big social statements made on Brothers Osborne's self-titled album. However, as long as this brotherly duo matches John Osborne's funky/twangy electric guitar with T.J. Osborne's deep holler lead vocals, that scintillating sibling sound is more than good enough to satisfy. ...

Turnpike Troubadours
Cat in the Rain

"A Cat in the Rain" marks the triumphant return of The Turnpike Troubadours, their first album in six years, reborn after their demise in 2019. A bit more mature, wiser, and, in the case of frontman and principal songwriter Evan Felker, a now sober approach. Their catchy hooks, singalong ...

Old Crow Medicine Show
Jubilee

While they started as a bluegrass band, Old Crow Medicine Show (OCMS) in recent years have won two Grammys and are considered one of our best roots bands, meshing Americana, old-timey music, folk and rock into an appealing sound. "Jubilee," their eighth studio album, is likely named for ...

John Rich
The Country Truth

The title to John Rich's album can be read a few ways. The 'country truth' may refer to the album's traditional instrumentation. No question, this is a country music album. More likely, though, Rich's intention is to give us his thoughts about contemporary political and social ...

Hailey Whitters
I'm In Love

Hailey Whitters smartly plays with words on the title track to this six-song EP. "He's in a Chevy/And I'm in love," she explains contrastingly. With its upfront mandolin part, the track nicely resembles Whitters' hit, "Everything She Ain't," which is reprised on ...

Lori McKenna
1988

Seemingly in a blink, Lori McKenna has released her 12th album, "1988," named for the year she married her husband, Gene. Steady prolific output at about an album every other year, this is the fourth produced by Dave Cobb, the first call producer for Nashville singer-songwriters of McKenna's caliber. ...

Daryl Mosley
A Life Well Lived

In times like these, we could all use a little Mayberry in our lives, and Daryl Mosley serves up lots of it in "A Life Well Lived," his third Pinecastle Records album. Simpler times, honest living and thankfulness for the little things in life are reflected in these easy-paced bluegrass tunes. ...

Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real
Sticks and Stones

Is the fact that Lukas Nelson has a famous father (Willie Nelson) a blessing or a curse? One might well wonder if this is somehow the case because he deserves so much more attention than he gets. Listening to "Sticks and Stones" offers plenty of new evidence that Lukas inherited great ...

Dan Tyminski
God Fearing Heathen

No one can accuse Dan Tyminski of rushing product to market. "God Fearing Heathen" is the 14-time Grammy winner's first solo album in six years, and it's his first bluegrass album in 15 years. It's also his first-ever album of original bluegrass songs. ...

The Watson Twins
Holler

Sisters Chandra and Leigh Watson (known as The Watson Twins) teamed up with big name producer Butch Walker for the musical shout-out, "Holler." The duo, many times known for their high profile backing vocal appearances, put themselves in the spotlight for this enjoyable, harmonious effort. ...

Dale Ann Bradley
Kentucky for Me

For her 14th album, Kentuckian Dale Ann Bradley — six-time International Bluegrass Music Association Female Vocalist of the Year — elects to pay musical tribute to her home state. With numerous collaborations with Kentucky friends as well as songs thematically tied to The Bluegrass ...

Old Dominion
Memory Lane

There are two ways to listen to Old Dominion's music. You can simply enjoy it for the feel, the lyrics, the beat...or you can study it as a master class in contemporary country songwriting and record production. Either way you're in for a treat, especially on this eight-song EP "Memory Lane. ...

Tim O'Brien
Cup of Sugar

A welcome addition to the Tim O'Brien canon. "Cup of Sugar" may be an old man's record, the phrase 'old man's record' utilized with respect: some perspectives can only be achieved with time, and as O'Brien writes, "I don't relate to a lot of the new ...

Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit
Weathervanes

Bob Dylan famously sang about how you don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows, and Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit do more than just gage wind direction with "Weathervanes." Isbell has a unique ability to get deep inside the heads of his various characters to reveal ...

The Kody Norris Show
Rhinestone Revival

The Kody Norris Show presents traditionally-based, 'good 'n country' bluegrass, music that is original, exciting and unabashedly bluegrass. With "Rhinestone Revival" the group continues to advance their interpretation of the music, one appreciated by those who look to the ...

Tanya Tucker
Sweet Western Sound

Tanya Tucker once again employed Brandi Carlile and Shooter Jennings to produce this album, and her producers also had a hand in writing some of its 10 songs. The album, the follow-up to 2019's "While I'm Livin'," which won the GRAMMY for Best Country Album, opens with the ...

Jelly Roll
Whitsitt Chapel

Jelly Roll sings about spiritual warfare in his soul consistently on "Whitsitt Chapel." So, if you're looking for silly country love songs and frat boy drinking tunes, you may want to keep moving on. In addition to performing country music, Jelly Roll also raps some. ...

Marty Stuart and His Fabulous Superlatives
Altitude

Marty Stuart and His Fabulous Superlatives opens with an instrumental, "Lost Byrd Space Train (Scene 1)," which is a nicely twisted way to phrase the musical roads Stuart travels. Stuart's music incorporates a whole lot of good stuff from traditional country to bluegrass to jangly, ...

Jordyn Shellhart
Primrose

A published songwriter by age 16, Wyoming native Jordyn Shellhart's debut album comes nearly ten years later, after earning cuts by Little Big Town, Kelsea Ballerini, Cody Johnson, and Don Williams. That experience explains the poise with which she delivers the goods here, whether it is the ...