Eligibility:
Any album officially released during the calendar year that is not a compilation, rerelease, or expanded edition of a previous album.
There is no limit per artist.
50) The Lumineers- Brightside
The Lumineers’ fourth studio outing follows what was an ambitious concept album release with 2019’s III, and in many ways, it’s difficult not to feel like the looser and more discrete (at only nine songs, it clocks in right at 30 minutes), Brightside flies in the face of its predecessor a bit. And while the band never really abandoned their core sound in any significant way, this record feels most connected to their 2012 debut of anything that they’ve released since “Ho Hey” finished its impressive chart run. You won’t find anything as outrightly charming, optimistic or plucky as that hit here, though you also won’t find any of the classic rock theatrics that crept into their last two albums, beautifully as they may have done so. This leaves loads of breathing room for this collection of crisp and concise tracks, with the spotlight pointed squarely back on Wesley Schultz’s engaging vocals, Jeremiah Fraites’ lovely harmonies, and a delightfully stripped and acoustic-based backdrop. There’s a wintry, melancholic spirit throughout, however punchy cuts like the title track, “Never Really Mine”, and “A.M. Radio” make for memorable singalongs nonetheless. All in all, Brightside once again proves what was at the heart of the whole 2010s folk-rock movement that they helped define: that less still is more sometimes. And it’s that beautiful simplicity which results in another solid session from one of the past decade’s most durable acts. (January 2022)
49) Charlie Puth- Charlie
The smooth pop operator finally reemerges with his third studio effort after a long period rife with creative pitfalls, romantic strife, and a record label shift at an unusually early time in his young career. The resulting effort, Charlie, finds the artist addressing the emotions and lessons learned during that turbulent time, all the while continuing to further polish the rhythmic brand of modern pop that places his expansive falsetto range front and center. The opening pair of songs, “That’s Hilarious” and “Charlie Be Quiet”, as well as later track “I Don’t Think I Like Her Anymore”, confront the sting and doubts stemming from his recent life experiences with a tone that doesn’t shy away from the bitter taste in his mouth, but still makes room for some sardonic levity. Meanwhile, heart-stricken performances like “Smells Like Me”, “Loser”, “When You’re Sad I’m Sad”, and “Tears On My Piano” dig deep into the aftermath of a shattered relationship with unabashed emotion, relinquishing the need to insert any irony or sarcasm to lighten the mood. Puth allows these performances to be precisely what they are: break-up tunes. That’s not to say however that he neglected his knack for creating infectious ear-worms, with snappy singles like “Light Switch” and “Left and Right” (featuring BTS member Jung Kook) delivering some of the most contagious and utterly pop moments of his catalog thus far. And by the time he arrives at the closing “No More Drama”, he’s signing with a renewed and resolute sense of closure and confidence, offering much promise for the future. All in all, Charlie dutifully accomplishes what every competent pop outing should, by balancing fun and accessible music with vivid and heartfelt stories. His ability to merge emotive and soaring vocal performances with a dizzying onslaught of memorable hooks, melodies and beats reminds us once again that Charlie Puth possesses the tools and potential to be a defining voice in the pop music universe for many years to come. (October 2022)
48) Little Big Town- Mr. Sun
The superstar country quartet marks two decades since their bumpy-but-eventually-triumphant arrival on the Nashville scene with the release of their tenth studio effort. It’s another well-rounded set that celebrates the vibrant and harmonious sounds that have made them one of the most refreshing and interesting acts in an often-maligned Music City era. As implied by its title and the groovy trifecta of anthemic openers (“All Summer”, “Better Love”, “Hell Yeah”), Mr. Sun definitely lets the rays in far more than its 2020 predecessor, the gorgeously wintry Nightfall, a record that arrived just prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, but seemed to forecast it’s solemn solitude nonetheless. If anything, the band offers up plenty of moments that, in classic country fashion, unabashedly find positive indulgence in life’s more downbeat moments, such as the blue-eyed soul of the title track or the funky, near-disco heartbreak of “Heaven Had A Dance Floor”. This isn’t to suggest that the world-stopping events of the past two and half years haven’t impacted their muse. Reflective moments like “Last Day of Earth” and “Friends of Mine”, and especially Jimi Westbrook’s career performance on “Rich Man”, not only tap into a changed world-view, but easily rank among the band’s most soulful performances to date. Two things that remain unchanged through any share of world events however are the power of a good heartbreak tune, and this band’s ability to take them to astonishing heights, as evidenced on the sun-kissed 70s ache of “Whiskey Colored Eyes”, or “Three Whiskeys and the Truth”, one of the group’s most deeply satisfying and pure country deliveries of their sterling career. (September 2022)
47) John Mellencamp- Strictly A One-Eyed Jack
When music historians analyze the musical legacy of John Mellencamp, it’s apparent that there will be two vastly different chapters that the overall story will be divided into: his run as a superstar, Heartland rock hero, and his post-millennium arc as a grumpy but poetic, ashy-voiced folk poet. And you know what? Both chapters are fucking fantastic in their own, distinct right. The latter portion continues now with Strictly A One-Eyed Jack, Mellencamp’s twenty fourth LP, which finds his increasingly raspy vocals further deteriorated by a lifelong cigarette habit, and his worldview further informed by the observations of an aging man, often-times curgmudgeonly, occasionally hopeful, and always soaked in a tar vat of soul and gravitas. Much like Bob Dylan’s latter-day vocals, Mellencamp’s are a bitterly acquired taste, but very much offer a unique quality that further underscores the songs he’s singing at this stage in life. Tracks like the humorously cynical “I Always Lie to Strangers”, drug-themed “Sweet Honey Brown”, and and pessimistic “I Am A Man That Worries” simply wouldn’t work as well if delivered by the classic Cougar pipes of his 80s heyday. And they’re further accentuated by the rustic, muddy trappings that color the album with gritty shades of folk, gospel, blues and even jazz. But that’s not to say he’s left those rock glory days completely behind him, as a trio of visits (vocals and guitar) from his fellow Heartland comrade Bruce Springsteen heartily illustrates. “Wasted Days” finds the pair delivering a breezy romp laced with both charming nostalgia and sage advise, while “Did You Say Such a Thing” effectively nods its head to their more amped-up rock past, and album closer “A Life Full of Rain” ends the proceedings with a full-circle moment that returns the pair to the central themes and sound of the overall record. They’re all satisfying, as is Strictly A One-Eyed Jack as a whole. (January 2022)
46) Carrie Underwood- Denim & Rhinestones
After taking a graceful pair of detours in her catalog by indulging in her love for both gospel music and seasonal tunes, Carrie Underwood makes a total 180 on her ninth studio album, and first proper since 2018’s Cry Pretty, by turning her attention to another love of hers: unabashed MTV-era glam pop. Denim and Rhinestones is a distillation of the high-energy arena vibes of her acclaimed concert shows, and Underwood simply sounds like she’s having a flat-out blast throughout this record. Producing that kind of loose, intoxicating joy on record is not always an easy task for an artist deemed as a diva with powerhouse vocals, when it’s often expected that you follow the more proper, and consequently, wooden route. This track list is an endless onslaught of slick, glossy country-pop anthems, with the title track, “Crazy Angels”, “Velvet Heartbreak”, “Hate My Heart”, “Pink Champagne” all feeling like essential additions to her next arena tour. All of these moments sound intentionally crafted with a big stage production in mind. That’s not to say she doesn’t flesh out the album with peak moments in other realms. Lead single, “Ghost Story” is a dramatic tour-de-force cut from the same fabric of her most pivotal career ballads, the saucy “She Don’t Know” continues her storied catalog of Southern Gothic cheating songs, and the beautifully stripped “Garden” is one of the most tender vocal performances in a nearly two decade career stacked with them. D&R is easily Underwood’s most purely pop release to date and the sonic euphoria elicited here often-times reaches Come On Over and Up! standards, not to mention that of Whitney or She’s So Unusual. No, it may not reign as her artistic zenith or most critically acclaimed release, but I’ll be damned if it’s not one of her most thoroughly satisfying to the ears. (June 2022)
45) Bonnie Raitt- Just Like That…
One of the most enduring catalogs in the rock canon grows once again and at age seventy two, there’s no signs of waning to be found in any of Bonnie Raitt’s strongest suits: a soulful voice, sterling interpretive and instrumental skills, and as powerful a song sense as any artist from her generation or those that followed. There’s still not another artist on the planet as proficient at filtering substantive blues-rock through an accessible, adult pop lens. She can still both rock out and wrench hearts with the best of them, as evidenced by rippling moments like opener “Made Up Mind” and the deliciously swampy “Waitin’ For You to Blow” as well as tenderly emotional gut-punches such as the story song “Just Like That” and the teary cancer-stricken finale, “Down the Hall”. And there are moments like the raucous and heartfelt single, “Livin’ for the Ones”, written in honor of those lost during the COVID-19 pandemic, where she does both at the same time. This entire, multi-faceted arc of Just Like That… is, in classic BR fashion, bound together magnificently by insatiable guitar riffs, marvelous organ fills, and the unique depth and character of Raitt’s still fervent voice. This has all the qualities of Raitt’s best work from the 70s, the 90s, and everywhere in between and is a stirring reminder of what a special, living legend the woman truly is. (April 2022)
44) Mitski- Laurel Hell
On her sixth studio record, alternative darling and enigma, Mitski takes her uniquely yet bewildering introspective style to thunderous new levels of sonic wonder and emotional power. Laurel Hell incorporates a magnetic wall of sound centered around insatiable synths and commanding electric piano strokes, and while this added production intensity has easily drowned out plenty of indie singers before her- especially one as deceptively soft-spoken as Mitski- she and producer Patrick Hyland are far too intelligent to fall into that trap. The swelling production choices only enhance the quiet urgency and haunting sentiments at the heart of each performance, with gorgeous centerpieces like “Heat Lightning” and “Working For the Knife” capable of leaving the listener in staggering states of beautiful devastation. The record really takes flight however when Mitski fully indulges in the crashing synth anthemia of tracks like “Love Me More”, a desperate plea from a lovesick soul crippled by the monotony of every day society, or the deliriously out-of-nowhere disco romp, “That’s Our Lamp”, which is as thrilling of an album finale likely to emerge all year. But no track in this vein is as stupendously enthralling as “The Only Heartbreaker”, a modern New-Wave showstopper and recent AAA chart-topper that sounds like a lost Kate Bush gem and makes Mitski just as deserving of the mainstream status that Billie Eilish has achieved in recent years. Frankly, it makes “Bad Guy” sound like a meek, cowering kitten by comparison. Laurel Hell is a menacing and entertaining piece of art, destined for indie greatness, and worthy of much more. (February 2022)
43) Willie Nelson- A Beautiful Time
It’s utterly impossible to fully express the impressive and prolific nature of Willie Nelson’s catalog as a recording artist. This is the man’s seventy-second studio release and it arrives on his 89th birthday. That feat in and of itself is an achievement. Then factor in the detail that the record opens with a song and performance that easily ranks among his finest performances, lead single “I’ll Love You Til the Day I Die”, a collaborative composition from Chris Stapleton and Rodney Crowell. Top it all off with the fact that the rest of the record sturdily upholds that quality all the way through its completion and there’s no other way to classify A Beautiful Time as anything but a gift, and if recent trends are any indication, it probably won’t even be his only release this year. Nelson’s inimitable voice may be showing increased wither as he closes in on his 90s, but it that development has only added further gravity to his performances and the subject matter he’s espousing. In classic Willie fashion, he champions the material of others as much as he does his own, and manages to balance the two as effortlessly as he always has. Tracks like the philosophical “Energy Follows Thought” and the charmingly ironic “I Don’t Go to Funerals” prove that his muse is just as deep as it always has been, all the while being complimented by familiar contributors like Shawn Camp (the title track) and Scotty Emerick “Dusty Bottles”. Meanwhile, he still manages to get along to some classic covers (who knew there were any still left on the table) with Leonard Cohen’s “Tower of Song”, and The Beatles’ “With A Little Help From My Friends”, which can’t help but the sentimental favorite from another excellent Red Headed Stranger release. (April 2022)
42) Hurray For the Riff Raff- Here On Earth
On “Wolves”, the opening cut to Hurray For the Riff Raff’s anticipated follow-up to 2017’s acclaimed The Navigator, lead vocalist Alynda Segarra continuously and ominously ruminates that “It’s not safe at home anymore”. In that simple line, she pretty much sums up how the past five years have often left the human soul feeling, regardless of which corner of the globe one may occupy. Life on Earth never shies away from those troublesome social tensions; it’s as bitterly frank and brutally honest as any of their previous records. But there’s an underlying sense of doubt, mystery, and helplessness floating on the surface that only makes it all the more relatable to a modern-day listener, and that aura is further emphasized by an increasing presence of electronica and alternative soundscapes residing alongside the group’s standard rock and roots influenced production choices. It only adds to the ethereal cloud of luminous mystery that steams from every lyric emoted from Segarra’s raw, cutting vocals. The trifecta of tracks including “Pierced Arrows”, “Pointed at the Sun”, and lead single “Rhododendron” are among her most guttural performances to date; but no track cuts quite as fiercely as the hip-hop leaning “Precious Cargo”, a harrowing immigration battle cry that immediately stakes its claim in the storied canon of classic folk protest songs. (February 2022)
41) Neil Young & Crazy Horse- World Record
On his forty-second studio album, and his now 15th with venerable rock outfit Crazy Horse, the folk-rock icon centers on themes very much in line with the social awareness and protest mentality that has never been far removed from Neil Young’s music, or that of so many artists from his generation. Of course, there’s still plenty, if not more, to bitch and be concerned about now as there was then, and in this instance Young refocuses his attention on matters of an environmental nature. But World Record is as much a love letter to the planet and all it provides, as it is a rally against the ignorance so many humans carry as it relates to concerns like pollution, climate change, and mass urbanization. The musical trappings of the record, produced this go-around by Rick Rubin, are incredibly loose, cozy even in parts, thanks to a mostly acoustic, lounge-like palate that focuses on instruments like pump-organ, accordion, piano, pedal steel, and of course Young’s iconic harmonica. These more muted settings bring out a particular intimate element of beauty and reflection on tracks like the opening tribute, “Love Earth” or the bittersweet “This Old Planet (Changing Days)”, which almost feels like an elegy to our natural climate. That’s not say Young doesn’t still find the room to raise the volume in this sonic setting when he needs to really bring out the frustrating anger he feels about where we stand environmentally, as seen on call-to-arms moments like “The World (Is In Trouble Now)” and “Break the Chain”, where the amps come in at least momentarily. However, he also remembers that, depending on your audience, you can get further with peaceful, folksy pleas depend like the hypnotic “Walkin’ On the Road (To the Future)”, which harken back to some of the haunting but soul-lifting vibes of classic albums like Harvest Moon. Now, why he felt the need to tack on a greasy 15-minute car-rock song at the end “Chevrolet”, I’m not really sure. Perhaps, there’s a hidden message speaking out against the effects of carbon-emissions from modern-day vehicles lingering underneath. Or perhaps he just felt the knee-jerk indulgence to add a little more hard rock to the proceedings. He’s Neil Young; he can do whatever the fuck he wants. (November 2022)
40) Trixie Mattel- The Blonde & Pink Albums
Trixie Mattel has been vying for full-on world domination in the years that have followed her 2018 win of RuPaul’s Drag Race: All-Stars, with a career that has taken on seemingly endless facets. The fact that she’s managed to build such an impeccably strong catalog of music in the midst of all her other ventures is nothing short of astounding. The release of this double LP feels like the culmination of something that’s been slowly building over the course of her first three albums, which began deeply rooted in country and folk with increasing pivots to sunny power-pop and New Wave along the way. Opening track, “Goner” blends all those styles splendidly and previews what overall is a joyous amalgamation of it all. Much of this sounds like a glorious throwback to the pop radio dial of the 60s, with tracks like the surfy “Hello Hello”, the trippy “Love You In Hi-Fi”, and the doo-wop of “Boyfriend” feeling like lost oldies and fresh creations all the same. She also remembers her diverse influences in a multitude of entertaining ways. She pays tribute to Loretta Lynn in a power-pop shuffle of all things, slips into a faithful cover of Cheap Trick on “I Want You To Want Me”, and then beautifully transforms The Go-Gos’ classic “Vacation” into tearful breakup ballad. Finally, two collaborative visits on the project’s most in-tune moments with Mattel’s folk roots prove to be the perennial pillars that bind the entire set together in a cohesive package wholly representative of the singer’s entire repertoire. The first, “White Rabbit” with Michelle Branch is a delightfully breezy performance worthy of mega-airplay, while “This Town” with Shakey Graves comprises one of Mattel’s most moving tracks to date, as the two navigate through the trouble small-town stories that filled Trixie’s childhood. The Blonde & Pink Albums is undoubtedly Trixie Mattel’s most fully-realized release to date, and serves as a promising sign of where she’ll continue to adventure musically. She remains one of the best kept secrets in pop, country and Americana. (June 2022)
39) Hailey Whitters- Raised
Long-time Nashville singer-songwriter Hailey Whitters raised her profile considerably with her 2020 sophomore album, Living the Dream, which helped further spread the word about what a sparkling gem her personality and talent have made her within the Music City music community for sometime. With her reputation as a spunky and literate lyricist in the vein of other acclaimed ladies like Miranda Lambert, Kacey Musgraves, and Brandy Clark, Whitters launches her third album and immediately asserts that even those welcomed comparisons cannot box in her stylistic identity. Observe the fact that this album is bookended with gorgeous, cinematic excerpts from the opera with “Ad Astra Per Alas Porci”for no further proof of that fact. But sandwiched in between those moments is another delightful collection of observations on small town America and everyday romance (“Everything She Ain’t”, “Raised”, “The Neon”, “Our Grass Is Legal”, “Middle of America”, and “Big Family” to name a lot), all uniquely colored by Whitters’ sharp point-of-view, razor-sharp wit and cunning attention to intimate details. All of the tracks are tastefully produced and presented, with clean and crisp country arrangements that recall Nashville’s 90s golden age, and such settings only shine a brighter light on what a charming breath of fresh air Whitters truly is. This is a bright and consistent set of songs that is difficult to pinpoint specific highlights from; every moment elicits a warm jolt of joyful resonance and appreciation for everyday life. (March 2022)
38) Punch Brothers- Hell on Church Street
Newgrass hero Chris Thile and his brethren return for their sixth studio album, and first in four years, by revisiting a pivotal artistic influence, which in turn leads them to a unique space within the confines of their prodigious and experimental discography. Hell on Church Street is a song-for-song revisitation of bluegrass legend Tim Rice’s 1983 classic, Church Street Blues, and it provides the setting for what is undoubtedly the band’s most purely traditional bluegrass album to date. With that said, one wouldn’t expect someone as relentlessly creative as Thile to approach this project as a strict recitation rather than a recreation. While they certainly play with their own updated arrangements on this collection of songs, themselves covers from the likes of roots pioneers such as Jimmie Rodgers, Bill Monroe, Tom Paxton, Gordon Lightfoot, and Bob Dylan, they do within the confines of honest and contemporary bluegrass frameworks, highlighted by gorgeous mandolin, fiddle and Thile’s inimitable voice. It’s both an effective examination of their rawest roots and a sterling tribute to their hero. It’s sure to please both purists who loved Rice’s original and intrigue listeners who are both new to these songs and Rice himself. Lead single “Church Street Blues”, “Streets of London”, “Orphan Annie”, and pure instrumentals like “Cattle in the Cain” are surefire highlights, but there’s not a bad track in the lot; all of them glow with the superlative musical talents of this esteemed troop. Another undeniably superb offering from the brothers Punch. (January 2022)
37) Ryan Adams- FM
The alt-country-rock pioneer is quickly closing in on Willie Nelson’s title as the modern artist whose recorded output is most challenging to keep up with. The release of FM marks Ryan Adams’ fifth LP release in the span of twenty months, and it mostly finds the now-veteran renegade comfortably settled into the moody, churning country-rock hybrid that became his primary signature at the dawn of the new millennium. This style is emphasized boldly by the high-lonesome Neil Young-recalling vocals of the opener, “I Want You”, and the ringing guitar sound that permeates its immediate successor, “Love Me Don’t”. But then we’re pulled into the saxophone-laced R&B textures of the splendid “Fantasy File”, and we’re quickly reminded that no amount of rapid-fire releases can hasten Adams’ penchant for sonic swerves. He rides the crest of that sensuous blend throughout the rest of the record, resulting in a sound that goes down smoothly but is never robbed of the gritty edges that have defined Adams’ career. Tracks like “Wild and Hopeless” and “So Dumb” boast some of the most insatiable guitar licks he’s delivered in a decade, while emotive cuts like “Someday” remind us what a unique and beautifully lonesome quality is revealed in his most introspective moments. (August 2022)
36) The Interrupters- In the Wild
The Interrupters return with their fourth album, and first release since 2018’s Fight the Good Fight brought the group some long-awaited chart action and mainstream attention, bolstered by breakout single, “She’s Kerosene”. This commercial exposure to their gonzo ska-punk sound instantly cast them and lead vocalist Aimee Interrupter respectively as the modern era’s answer to No Doubt and Gwen Stefani (or Joan Jett depending on the song). It’s a high compliment that’s certainly deserved with their music instantly sending us down the nostalgia rabbit hole to the halycon days of Tragic Kingdom. But as their pre-Kerosene followers well know, the Interrupters are far more than a novelty or throwback act. They exhibit rock powers and POVs unique to themselves that continue to blossom and thrive throughout In the Wild. The growl in Interrupter’s vocal range has only become more rapturously expressive since their last outing, and it serves the sardonic bitterness of banging performances like “Anything Was Better”, “Jailbird”, “In the Mirror”, and especially “Raised By Wolves” exceptionally well. With a vessel this dynamic, it’s no surprise that she’s just as magnetic when tackling slower material, for which she only does once on closing number, “Alien”. A few more ballads in this vein would certainly be welcomed, but that’s a minor complaint, especially given how marvelously the rest of the album snaps and sparkles. Such a commanding voice also requires an equally robust band to support it. The rest of the Interrupters certainly provide that with an onslaught of glorious rock dexterity that is unrelentingly anthemic and rousing, and only further bolstered thanks to guest spots from the likes of ska and punk royals like Tim Armstrong, Rhoda Dakar, The Skints, and Hepcat’s Greg Lee. (August 2022)
35) Panic! At the Disco- Viva Las Vengeance
The seventh studio release from Panic! At the Disco, and the second under its incarnation as a Brandon Urie solo project, proves to be a delicious alt-rock/pop experience, as well as their most boldly adventurous sonic statement since 2013’s Too Weird to Live, Too Rare to Die. That’s not to suggest that Urie has abandoned the more commercial inclinations that successfully launched the band into the mass airplay universe with the massive singles culled from 2016’s Death of a Bachelor and 2018’s Pray for the Wicked. Those elements are certainly still prominent on bangers like the title track and follow up single “Middle of a Breakup”, and especially later on the pure pop delight of the aptly titled “Sugar Soaker”. But while we never really see a return to the more progressive emo sounds of Panic’s early moments, Vengeance more than finds Urie expanding out of the middling yet satisfying MOR sound that has permeated recent albums. In many ways, the album is an exercise in blending the act’s well-known theatre-kid roots with a bevy of classic rock influences, ranging from Thin Lizzy (“Star Spangled Banner) and Queen (“God Killed Rock and Roll” and “Sad Clown”) to late-period Beatles (“Something About Maggie”). Interspersed throughout you will find some of Urie’s most captivatingly evocative moments as a powerhouse balladeer, on standouts “Don’t Let the Light Go Out” and “All By Yourself”. This record is bound to be another consecutive crowd-pleaser for Panic! At the Disco. But it should also please long-time fans who have spent the past decade or so waiting on some more stylistic risk-taking from the last man standing of one of the preeminent rock groups of the era. (August 2022)
34) Kelsea Ballerini- Subject to Change
Since emerging on the mainstream country scene in 2014, Kelsea Ballerini has progressively grown into one of the genre’s most reliable female voices, both commercially and artistically. Mirroring a trajectory not unlike Taylor Swift’s country days, her first pair of albums found her navigating the rollercoaster emotions of love in your late teens and early twenties, with her 2020 third album Kelsea proving to exhibit her greatest growth yet as a confessional young songwriter. With the arrival of Subject to Change, it’s likewise not unreasonable to parallel this to Swift’s fourth blockbuster, Red, in that it finds Ballerini officially unveiling a voice, style, and narrative that are finally fully-formed. She sounds as confidently nimble and convicted in her sound as she ever has. As the title implies, it’s an LP crafted in the midst of life’s turbulence. Some of this is as a result of the year 2020 and the dark cloud of the COVID-19 pandemic, while others stem from a young lady being faced with a slew of personal upheavals, be it the crumbling of a marriage or the overall challenge to find a place in an increasingly complicated world. Ballerini addresses all of this with impressive honesty (“Weather”, “Love Is a Cowboy”) gratitude (“What I Have”, “Heartfirst”) , perseverance (the title track, “Doin’ My Best”), and above all, a positive outlook that makes time for fun and camaraderie (“You’re Drunk, Go Home” with Carly Pearce and Kelly Clarkson) in between as well. Sonically, she’s arrived at a splendid country-pop sweet spot that sounds as authentic and balanced as any Nashville crossover of the past two decades. And it’s further complicated by both a physical and compositional voice that is a joy to hear so wholly realized. Without question, Subject to Change is an artistic breakthrough for Ballerini in every possible way. (September 2022)
33) Jeremy Ivey- Invisible Pictures
The third album from the Nashville-based indie fixture, Jeremy Ivey, hosts a number of pivots from his previous two records, both of which were rich blends of country, folk and rock, with 2020’s Waiting Out the Storm proving to be overtly political in nature as well. The first major shift finds Ivey replacing his wife, country-rock queen Margo Price in the producer’s chair with Andrija Tokin, known for work with both Alabama Shakes and Hurray For the Riff Raff. While Price is sorely missed anywhere that she isn’t, this change in the studio opens the door for continued expansion of Ivey’s quirky sonic palate, which takes on a prominent psychedelic rock sound throughout Invisible Pictures (this is a great companion piece to last year’s Aaron Lee Tasjan record). These arrangements offer plenty of color, range and creative surprises across this body of these ten tracks, all solely written by Ivey. They zig when you expect them to zag, leading to gorgeously subtle nuances that prove to be an enthralling delight, whether it be the gloriously layered fiddles on standout “Grey Machine” or the enjoyably jarring piano pounding on “Trial by Fire”, among others. Centering the entire project is the unrelenting deadpan and clever delivery of Ivey’s vocals and their pairing with the intelligent and oddball life observations littered within his prose, with “Downhill (Upside Down Optimist)” being a particular highlight, and one that recalls classic John Prine. All in all, it’s another positive chapter in Ivey’s artistic evolution, and one that deserves to make him just as recognizable in the field as his talented spouse. (March 2022)
32) Bruce Springsteen- Only the Strong Survive
As Bruce Springsteen’s legendary catalog has continued to grow throughout the 21st century, The Boss has proven himself to be one of rare rock icons from his era (Bonnie Raitt and John Mellencamp among them), or any rock era for that matter, who has managed to age masterfully, continuing to deliver the kind of creative and entertaining records that stand up well to the classics of his peak periods in the 70s and 80s. Albums like 2012’s Wrecking Ball and 2020’s Letter to You have proven that he can still rule and deliver rock & roll with the same vigor and energy of his youth, while passion projects like We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions from 2006 and Western Stars from 2019 have served to quench his desire to veer off and pay tribute to other stylistic areas of interest and passion. Only the Strong Survive falls squarely in that latter category, a covers project of fantastic and timeless soul and R&B classics from the Mo-Town and surrounding eras that sourced so much of Springsteen and his young bands’ formative performances in the New Jersey music scene of the late 60s and early 70s. The song selections here are unsurprisingly tasteful and varied, featuring standout moments from the careers of heroes like The Commodores, The Four Tops, The Supremes, Jimmy Ruffin, Jerry Butler, Dobie Gray, The Temptations, Ben E. King, and William Bell, to name most. This is not a covers album where the artist is looking to reincarnate these classics as something wholly new, but rather finds Springsteen, producer Ron Aniello, and the red-hot musicians assembled (including guest vocals on two tracks from R&B legend Sam Moore) staying tried and true to the original arrangements and melodies. This is a positive choice, especially in this realm of music and you can instantly feel the limitless love and passion that Springsteen carries for these tunes. That’s also not to suggest that Bruce doesn’t insert his own vocal character and style into these readings. In fact, as I mentioned in a recent single review, I love how projects like this and Stars have bestowed long-overdue prominence on Springsteen’s talent for pure, straight-forward singing, which shines throughout the entire record, but especially on rousing renditions of the Commodores’ “Nightshift”, Ruffin’s “What Becomes of the Broken Hearted”, and the sweet Supremes standard, “Someday We’ll Be Together”. (November 2022)
31) Maren Morris- Humble Quest
With her first two albums having brought her mainstream country acclaim as well as bona fide smashes on the pop charts, it wouldn’t have been a shock for Maren Morris to go all in on the crossover gambit with her third LP, in the same vein as 90s landmarks like Come On Over or Faith. Conversely, this album is informed by deeply affecting personal milestones over the years that intervened between then and now, including but not limited to: the death of producer and friend, Busbee, the birth of her first child and a subsequent bout with postpartum depression, and of course a global pandemic. The resulting record is Morris’ most reflective and most mature body of work to date, and one that sonically points her back to her formative country-rock sound, very much in the vein of Sheryl Crow in her own 90s heyday. The dusty singer-songwriter vibes of opening track and lead single, “Circles Around This Town” sound as connected to breakout track “My Church” as anything she’s recorded since, while warm steel guitar riffs and folksy guitar sound just as warm and affecting on a cheeky cut like “I Don’t Love You Anymore” as they do on the breezy and contemplative “Detour”. Her roles as a wife and a mother provide equally deep moments like the gorgeous “Hummingbird” and “What Would This World Do”, and comedic bits of levity with the punchy “Tall Guys”. But it’s when Morris wears her well-established, sympathetic but equally weary worldview on her sleeve like on the provoking title track where she reaches her artistic peak to date; a moment where her identity as an artist, celebrity and human being coalesce together in beautiful fashion. It’s the emotional and musical heartbeat of what is her most inspired, well-rounded and wholly realized album thus far. (March 2022)
30) Noah Cyrus- The Hardest Part
“When I turned 20, I was overcome with the thought that I might not turn 21/Death upon my doorstep if I took one more step/There’d be nothing left of me except these songs“. That’s as harrowing an opening stanza to an artist’s debut album as any in history, and the fact that Noah Cyrus is delivering now only from the perspective of age 23 intensifies the impact in dramatic fashion. It sets the stage of a true exercise in the purest and rawest sense of a singer-songwriter’s craft, as Cyrus weaves together a collection of gut-punching songs that suggest that the young lady has already battled (or at least witnessed as part of famous musical family that includes father Billy Ray and sister Miley) a extensive amount of heartbreak and depression, demons and vices. The depth of tracks like “Mr. Percocet”, “Every Beginning Ends” (a splendid modern alt-country duet with Benjamin Gibbard of Death Cab for Cutie), “Unfinished”, “My Side of the Bed”, and “I Burned LA Down” are astounding in their mature specificity as they pinpoint all of the breaking points and failed rescue efforts in a doomed relationship. To hear her ruminate on aging on the title track, mortality on the hymnally-tinged “Loretta’s Song”, or the state of our crumbling national unity on “I Just Want a Lover” is even more rewarding and astonishing in their revelation of an artistic voice that is wise and reflective far beyond her years. This is a remarkable album, as a debut or otherwise, and immediately establishes Noah Cyrus as an important artist to watch in the years ahead. It’s equally shattering, soothing, and soulful. (September 2022)
29) Miko Marks & The Resurrectors- Feel Like Going Home
The story of Miko Marks’ winding musical journey is one of those great journeyman success stories that rarely get the chance to be told in today’s music world. She emerged in the mid-2000s with two indie-released projects that went criminally overlooked for three crucial factors that automatically strike out with closed-minded Music City gatekeepers: she sang traditional country, she was black, and she was a woman. It took nearly fifteen years for Marks to reemerge with last year’s Our Country, which effectively gave her a rebirth and set the stage for Feel Like Going Home, which feels like a full, victorious realization of her destiny to become a leading beacon in the world of roots music, in the same vein of women like Brandi Carlile, Yola, Patty Griffin, and the like. Marks’ massively revelatory chops are an experience all on their own, while she finds her stylistic heartbeat by melding roots genres like country, blues, soul and gospel in one sizzling cauldron of sonic goodness. Meanwhile, she’s assembled a crack supporting band, The Resurrectors, that match her astoundingly raw talent and ability to navigate between a plethora of sweet Southern sounds. This record really sounds like a grand tour throughout all of the varied origins of great Southern music; from the honky tonks and the muddy swamp to the church and the mountains. Meanwhile, Marks soulfully opines on guttural topics ranging from self-discovery, both spiritual and personal, to romantic discourse and social unrest. It’s an expansive record, both topically and stylistically, but one that is unified and centered throughout. Feel Like Going Home feels like both a gift from a bygone era, but an essential artistic statement for today’s world as well. Above else, it’s the long-awaited culmination of a talented artist finally finding the musical identity she as always destined to inhabit, becoming a critically key voice to watch in the future along the way. (November 2022)
28) Florence + The Machine- Dance Fever
The fifth record from alt-giants Florence + the Machine is another soulful and contemplative album in the group’s impressive catalog, but one fact that is never in question is the ethereal, carnal power and beauty comprised in the vocals of Florence Welch. If Dance Fever confirms anything after the group’s four year absence from the studio, it’s that there is simply not another vocalist on the planet today like her. Like its four predecessors, the album serves as an unflinching showcase for her ability to tap into the deepest well of her own soul and those of others in an effort to excavate the most pivotal, emotional, and complicated aspects of the human experience. On opening track and single, “King”, her powerful declarations of her successes are underscored with doubts about her failures or missed opportunities in other aspects of her life, a devastating moment further underscored by the album’s heart-ripping finale, “Morning Elvis”. Through these and other such internally embattled performances that form the album, “Girls Against God” and “Heaven Is Here” chief among them, she once again gives courageous and beautiful voice to all of those inner-battles we as listeners face in day-to-day life. Likewise, as the title suggests, Dance Fever also contains plenty of sonic adventure. Welch and company have always had a few toes dipped into the world of synthesized dance music and on this record, no doubt at the welcome encouragement and influence of newly added producer Jack Antonoff, they go all in. This results in truly mesmerizing and equally addictive performances like the harrowing “My Love”, and the equally revitalizing “Free”. These two highlights emphatically prove once and for all that the lyrical depth of a singer-songwriter’s craft has a place next to a disco-inspired beat. That in and of itself is a daunting accomplishment, but then again so is this entire record. Another stellar entry in an already towering catalog. (May 2022)
27) Ashley McBryde- Lindeville
The third studio album from country artist Ashley McBryde is the delicious kind of left-of-center detours that are nearly extinct in the catalogs of modern day acts, particularly those recording in the major label system. A pure-bred concept album based on a fictional small town inspired by the late, famed songwriter Dennis Linde (“Goodbye Earl”, “Burning Love”, “Callin’ Baton Rouge” and many more), it’s a collection of humorous, down-home anecdotes sung from the perspective of the town’s residents. These tales, among them such fantastic titles as “Brenda, Put Your Bra On”, “If These Dogs Could Talk”, “Bonfire at Tina’s” and “Gospel Night at the Strip Club” are executed in a fashion that is both believable and endlessly entertaining, thanks to a blend of both small-town pride and humble self-deprecation, punctuated by a strong dose of twangy and electric country musicianship of the highest order. The most current comparison or reference is most definitely the catalog of Pistol Annies, but its true lineage most definitely calls back several generations to the classic novelties of artists like Roger Miller and Tom T. Hall with a combination of the elevated, literate expression of John Prine. Adding another unique layer is the fact this is far more an Ashley McBryde & Friends record, than it is a solo affair. The record’s namesake only appears in the lead position on a number of key tracks and the joyously slapstick vignettes that are interspersed throughout the tracklist. Otherwise, she generously forfeits the spotlight on the remainder of the songs to a wide array of talented guests, including Brandy Clark, Caylee Hammack, Pillbox Patti, Aaron Raitiere, Benjy Davis, and Brothers Osborne (John Osborne also serves as producer). This variety only further elevates the unique nature of the record, adding an endearing country variety show feel to the festivities, and McBryde & Osborne weave all of the diverse character sketches, narrative voices and expert musicianship together in seamless fashion. Lindeville is the kind of delightful surprise that we didn’t expect or know that we needed, and additional volumes from McBryde and her cohorts would certainly be welcome in the future. (October 2022)
26) Wilco- Cruel Country
Much anticipation awaited the release of Wilco’s twelfth studio album, a double LP that bandleader Jeff Tweedy specifically proclaimed as a concerted nod back to the country roots that were prevalent on their first two albums, 1995’s AM and 1996’s Being There, which along with his work in Uncle Tupelo are now widely regarded as early classics in the alternative country canon. It is important to enter into this album with the tempered expectations and understanding that this is a man and a band that have lived three more decades of musical journeys and life experience since those early days. The album’s opening numbers, “I Am My Mother” and the loping Western ballad which is the title track, certainly support this fact and find Tweedy unveiling a softer and contemplative version of adult country music that is certainly not the second coming of AM. But, it’s also just as magnetic and beautiful in its own way. Tweedy’s living in his full-on Gram Parsons-meets-John Lennon realm, with a weathered and weary twang that is tailor-made for its daunting attempt to make sense of aptly-titled cruelly divided country that is America in the 2020s. This softer, more folk-inclined reflection is the consistent heartbeat throughout Cruel Country, however it does get fleshed out quite nicely with more muscular arrangements on affairs such as the alluring “Bird Without a Tail/Base of My Skull”, the delightfully authentic nod to Buddy Holly & The Crickets on the crackling “Falling Apart (Right Now)”, and the tantalizing country-noir piece “Mystery Binds”, which specifically showcases the warm steel guitar playing of Nels Cline, who proves to be a true stalwart throughout the record. His playing may be the most fulfilling steel playing on any post-millennium country record to date. All in all, and regardless of genre, Cruel Country is another impressively stirring entry in the Wilco catalog, and a further testament that they remain one of the most consistent, talented and soulful bands in modern times. But, if they do want to let this be a signal of further country-leaning albums in the future, there’d be no arguments here. In the meantime, this stands as a beautiful moment that is both full-circle but equally present and forward-looking as well.
Continue to: Part II
The 706 