Beyonce- Cowboy Carter (Columbia)
In what will indisputably prove to be one of the biggest blockbuster roll-outs of 2024, Beyonce follows 2022’s Renaissance with what is being billed as the second act of a an album trilogy, with this installment being inspired by the superstar’s exploration of the country music art form. We’ll unpack the matter of genre momentarily. First though, from a pure vocal standpoint, this is arguably her greatest singing showcase to date (those harmonies on “American Requiem” evoke all sorts of glorious Destiny’s Child nostalgia). Secondly, there’s the length of the record to digest. With a 78-minute run-time, the album certainly could have benefited from some editing but alas, such is par-for-the-course in the streaming era. And for as robust as the track-list is, there is very little filler to be found here. Finally, it’s important to approach the record by aligning your sonic expectations with the singer’s recent statement that Cowboy Carter is “not a country album, but rather a Beyonce album.” It’s a more truthful piece of advertising, as the LP explores an expansive range of influences that travel far beyond Texas or Tennessee. Country & western is certainly a prominent and centralizing pillar throughout. In addition to the banjo-drenched smash single “Texas Hold ‘Em”, you’ll find introductory interludes from the likes of Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton (who blesses a saucy reinvention of her classic, “Jolene”), and black country pioneer, Linda Martell. In addition to shining light on Martell’s courageous contributions to country’s past, a cover of The Beatles’ “Blackbird” features a collective of modern black, female country singers (Brittney Spencer, Reyna Roberts, Tanner Adell, Tiera Kennedy), while Rhiannon Giddens’ superlative banjo is given a marvelous spotlight on “Hold ‘Em”. Each of these moments serve as highlights, and generously fulfill the album’s prophecies to both explore her own personal roots within the country spectrum, and offer an overdue reclamation of the pivotal role that African-American voices have always provided in the country music story. A litany of other sounds, old and new for Beyonce, likewise abound throughout the audacious project. These include her standard pop and R&B flavors (“Bodyguard”, “II Hands II Heaven), Hip Hop (“Spaghettii”, “Tyrant”, “Sweet Honey Buckin'”), rock (the sublime Miley Cyrus collab, “II Most Wanted), dance and funk (the surefire smash “Ya Ya”), and even opera (“Daughter”). Her gumption to tackle such a wide palate of sounds is impressive in itself, but even more so is her aplomb in melding them into a body of work as cohesive as Cowboy. This record is truly an examination of the concept of genre as a whole, rather than an exercise in any one specific style; Martell’s introduction to “Spaghettii” directly states this much. In the end, Cowboy Carter is a fascinating journey throughout the entire spectrum of American sounds as a whole. It shines glorious light on how they all weave in and out of one another, and on the diverse plethora of artistic and cultural voices that tether them together so beautifully. Queen Bey has dramatically raised the standard for which all subsequent 2024 popular music releases will be measured against. Bravo.
Sheryl Crow- Evolution (Big Machine)
Fresh off her recent enshrinement in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, the 90s pop-rock poet returns with her twelfth long-player, a follow-up to 2019’s excellent Threads, a generous duets project that Crow billed at the time as her final studio album. Whether it’s just the continued vinyl resurgence or a flood of new inspiration that has Crow walking back her earlier death sentence of the album is unclear. Regardless, here she is returning with the twelfth entry in a catalog that has provided us with a fair share of high-points during the last thirty years of modern rock. All told, Evolution does not immediately announce itself as a landmark legacy album for Crow, but more of a pleasant, if not generic collection. The bulk of the record finds Crow settling into a breezy 70s rock comfort zone that rarely levels up out of its hazy first-gear. But rarely doesn’t equate to never, and when Crow does raise the emotional and sonic stakes on a handful of performances, she blesses us with some mighty fine late-career moments. Lead single, “Alarm Clock” opens the set in strong fashion with its fuzzy rock guitar palate and addictive pop hooks. “Don’t Walk Away” is a strikingly gorgeous piano ballad bolstered by a satisfyingly dramatic build, thanks to a swelling orchestral backdrop and a glowing display of the increasingly high timbre that Crow’s vocal register has acquired with age. The undeniable centerpiece however is certainly the title track, which finds the singer grappling with the frightening social and artistic implications of artificial intelligence. She’s always had an impressive potency when it comes to confronting societal and cultural issues of the present day, and “Evolution” reinforces that strength. Sheryl Crow still has plenty left to say, and even on her more inconsistent days, AI can’t hold a candle to her trademark soul and conviction.
Enjoying our content? Follow us on Facebook and subscribe by following the links below!
Sierra Ferrell- Trail of Flowers (Rounder)
On 2021’s Long Time Coming, Sierra Ferrell scored a significant breakthrough that officially announced her to Americana and roots music aficionados as a promising noisemaker to point the scene toward the future. Trail of Flowers instantly asserts itself as a worthwhile predecessor, and further solidifies this dynamic songbird as a pivotal creative force for the long-run. Not since Brandi Carlile can I recall feeling so enamored with a voice that at once boasts such shimmering clarity, unflinching emotional authenticity, and guttural grit. That special quality likewise carries through to her songwriting and storytelling. These songs spotlight Ferrell’s uniquely beguiling framing of all the classic folk touchstones, mostly centered around hardships of the romantic and economic variety, and of course, the peaks and pitfalls that come with daring to dream for something better. Cut down to its core, Ferrell’s work is folk music in the purest sense. And I love that she doesn’t shy away from this fact, nor does she allow it to restrict her stylistically. This body of songs offers a superb range of delicious sonic flavor, naturally segueing from fiddling bluegrass and moody country-blues to bewitching murder balladry and Tejano-tinged honky tonk. Her nimble, chameleonic navigation through this melting-pot is a thrill to listen to, and it likewise serves to showcase a slew of fantastic supporting musicians, including her own astute fiddle skills. Trail of Flowers is nothing short of an American roots marvel. It further establishes Sierra Ferrell as a forward-looking voice. This young lady has the goods to continue the rich modern folk lineage of women like Iris DeMent, Gillian Welch, Sarah Jarosz and others of that fabulous ilk, all while gracing it with her own singularly splendid bent.
HARDY- Hixtape, Vol. 3: Difftape (Big Loud)
HARDY’s frenetic and fascinating affliction for genre-hopping returns him to his countriest roots on the third rendition of his collaborative series, Hixtape, which this round serves as a delightful and star-packed tribute to the 90s country favorite, Joe Diffie. HARDY and producer Joey Moi smartly leave their blustery sonic tendencies at the door, and color the record with the same straight-forward neo-traditional sounds that defined the originals. That’s not always the best or most effective approach on covers or tribute albums, but it’s precisely the right choice on Difftape, especially given that vocals from Diffie himself are retained on each track. This record’s prime purpose is to indulge in nostalgia and to spotlight the very best elements of Diffie’s signature songs. This mission is delivered by a vast and blended cast of both legacy acts that shared the charts with Diffie, and modern voices that grew up listening to him. This results in a staggering mix of characters that you won’t see rubbing elbows anywhere else, including the likes of Reba McEntire, Clint Black, Tracy Lawrence, Blake Shelton, Luke Bryan, Morgan Wallen, Post Malone (the dude kicks some country ass here, folks), Jon Pardi, Lainey Wilson, Hailey Whitters (the runaway best of the younger lot), Luke Combs, Koe Wetzel, Diffie’s son Parker, among others. Now, including Diffie’s vocals on these tracks does admittedly draw a distinct line through the talent list at times; he undoubtedly sings some of these younger men under the table. Nevertheless, these moments are compensated for by the palpable joy and affinity that each performer evokes while participating in this project. The song-selection is also refreshingly thorough, making room for a solid number of Diffie’s prime moments as a balladeer, a towering weapon in his arsenal that has always been overshadowed by his niche for novelty. The finest of those slower moments proves to be 1992’s “Ships That Don’t Come In”, which features Combs and what was ultimately the final recording by the recently lost Toby Keith. Keith’s powerhouse pipes clearly retained all of their magic until the very end, and to say that this moment adds an elevated layer of bittersweet beauty to the album would most certainly be an understatement. Flat out, Hixtape: Vol. 3 is an excellently curated tribute and blast to listen to. It’s positively brimming with fun and nostalgia.
The Secret Sisters- Mind, Man, Medicine (New West)
The sisterly duo of Laura and Lydia Rogers first graced us with their angelic sibling harmonies on their self-titled 2010 debut, an unapologetically retro country throwback that immediately earned them acclaim as this generation’s answer to classic acts like the brothers Everly and Louvin. The duo could have easily ridden that nichey novelty to great success over the past fourteen years, but instead have chosen to constantly evolve their sound forward. They’ve done so by openly collaborating with a variety of different roots-oriented producers, from T. Bone Burnett and Dave Cobb to Brandi Carlile, who on 2020’s Saturn Return unearthed a soulfully dark folk-rock sound. The pair switches things up again on their fifth studio effort by sharing the production credits with Ben Tanner (Alabama Shakes) and John Paul White (The Civil Wars). Together, the quartet crafts an overly loping and meditative folk-soul soundscape that paints their special vocal blend in as lovely a light as ever before. These tracks find them settling into the continuously chaotic world that has unfolded since 2020, a period that also found them each experiencing motherhood for the first time. Tracks like “Space”, “Planted”, “If the World Was A House”, and especially lead single “Same Water”, all take on a modern hymnal touch as they plead with a divided society to recall that we’re all experiencing this world together. Equally evocative is the lilting “I Can Never Be Without Your Anymore”, which could double as an ode to the transformative powers of both romance and parenthood. As comforting as these supple, softer touches are, it’s a joy to hear them kick-up some twangy country-noir dust on the fabulous “Paperweight”, as well digging deep into their bluesier well with Ray LaMontagne on the superb duet, “All the Ways”. Album #5 is another excellently concise but diverse outing from these Sisters, whose body of work should be anything but a secret at this point.
Enjoying our content? Follow us on Facebook and subscribe by following the links below!
The 706 
Leave a comment