Charley Crockett- $10 Cowboy (Thirty Tigers)
Americana’s most stylish and prolific young voice returns with $10 Cowboy, which presumably caps off an initial decade of recorded music that has now astonishingly spanned thirteen (!) studio albums, two extended plays, and an excellent live set that served as this record’s predecessor. There’s certainly no rising artist in any genre that’s releasing music at the rapid pace that Charley Crockett is, and there’s nary a sign of any artistic fatigue or waning listener demand on the horizon. His soulfully booming twang has become regarded as a crown jewel for traditional country addicts, blues purists, and roots music lovers in general. With an undeniably retro sound, Crockett’s music certainly serves as a gateway to a bygone era. However, he’s managed to avoid the stagnant novelty niche that so many artists of this ilk find themselves trapped in. This can be credited to a variety of wonderful signature elements that he’s established within his musical identity. There’s the sheer beauty of his haunting croon and lush palate of honky tonk, countrypolitan, blues, and soul. And then there’s the unequivocal conviction and pathos with which Crockett graces his woeful tales of economic, romantic, and social strife. He conveys these narratives with such a dazzling sense of intimacy and vividly authentic imagery. Inspired by his time spent on the road, $10 plays like a modern-day version of Johnny Cash’s Ride This Train, a sweeping travelogue of the hard-luck tales that litter the American highways Crockett has criss-crossed. On a track like “Solitary Road”, rippling with Western rock guitars and Crockett’s evocative narrative wonder, you feel like you’re in the passenger seat for every moment of his doomed journey. Or on the triumphantly seductive “Lead the Way”, as Crockett revels in finding both musical and romantic fulfillment, you feel like you’re close enough to give him a congratulatory hug. Just as he knows the classic sounds he loves never truly lose their relevance, he recognizes the same timeless quality within the raw stories of the basic human experience. He may brand himself as a $10 Cowboy on this latest release, but the record once again reveals that the magic of Charley Crockett’s music is undeniably priceless.
Ernest- Nashville, Tennessee (Big Loud)
As the 2010s wound down, Music City native Ernest slowly emerged as a budding talent amongst the bro-country scene, collaborating with high-profile acts like Florida Georgia Line, Morgan Wallen, Sam Hunt, and HARDY. As last year’s steel-soaked Wallen duet, “Flower Shops”, and his accompanying sophomore album gained chart traction, Ernest boldly continued to show his Nashville roots and separate himself from the pack as a neo-trad flag-bearer. He doubles down on this rootsy spirit on his appropriately titled third album, which joyously marries his witty lyrical muse, down-home vocals, and affection for country sounds, both past and present. While there are certainly more contemporary pop moments like the latest Wallen duet, “Hangin’ On”, Ernest and resident Big Loud producer Joey Moi remain studiously loyal to the rich, organic country backdrops that best suit both Ernest’s voice and his impressive storytelling acumen. This is one of the cleanest and most tastefully produced albums to be found in any genre today. Not only would the sonics sound natural in the 90s country landscape, they’d fit in just as nicely in the eras of the three prior decades. Paul Franklin’s legendary steel-guitar wizardry is front-and-center throughout. The prominence of vintage Western Swing and honky tonk stylings recalls George Strait’s emergence in the midst of the 80s Urban Cowboy era. And collaborations with acts like Lainey Wilson, Lukas Nelson, and even Jelly Roll recall classic country duets of the highest order. Ernest continues to exhibit a seamless comfort with both clever novelties and crushing heartbreak alike, and both his writing and singing showcase a unique turn-of-phrase that is increasingly scarce in today’s country crop. He clearly paid attention to the surroundings and influences of his hometown. Like so many LPs in today’s streaming age, the record is a long one at twenty-six tracks. However, there’s impressively little filler to be found. Even initially seeming vanity-moments like covers of John Mayer’s “Slow Dancing In a Burning Room” or especially Radiohead’s “Creep” (a duet with HARDY) are brilliantly transformed into additional displays of Ernest’s golden country touch. The loping, cowboy interpretation of the latter is the most surprised and excited I’ve been by any cover in quite some time. Nashville, Tennessee more than does its namesake and the music world it represents proudly. A satisfying conquest from an artist whose name deserves to be on everyone’s lips by the time this record finishes its run.
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Pearl Jam- Dark Matter (Republic)
The most resilient outfit of the 90s grunge movement returns with their first studio album in four years. The resulting Dark Matter further vitalizes a catalog that has remained relevant and fresh, all while that of the majority of their contemporaries and successors has long fizzled out or, at minimum, become watered-down caricatures of their past glories. Sure, there’s still plenty of the signature Eddie Vedder brooding and blustery rock weight that has defined their three decade-plus run. However, there’s also a notably increased presence of looser arrangements, breezy reflection, and infectious jangle throughout and it’s incredibly fresh and rejuvenating. This can certainly be credited to the arrival of ace-producer Andrew Watt who, in addition to producing a slew of current pop stars and a solo project for Vedder himself, has recently been behind the boards of latter-day rebirths for acts like Ozzy Osbourne, Elton John, Iggy Pop, and most notably last year’s Hackneyed Diamonds by The Rolling Stones. Filtering the classic PJ sound through Watts’ fresh pair of lens produces a record that can seamlessly house expectedly denser moments like the title track, “Running”, and “Waiting for Stevie” with Wallflowers-recalling moments like “Wreckage” and the bluesy “Upper Hand” and the Tom Petty-leaning classic-rock anthemia of “Something Special”. It all blends to concoct an impressively balanced rock record that will satisfy long-time band loyalists, while offering some curious temptation to listeners that may have been previously averse to the undeniably polarizing nature of Vedder’s singing, and the band’s overall sound. That’s not an easy intersection to arrive at this late in a band’s career. However, it’s precisely the kind of nuanced evolution that will further extend one’s legacy arc into another decade of prominence.
St. Vincent- All Born Screaming (VMG)
The seventh studio outing from alt-rock visionary St. Vincent is not the uplifting spring-time jam that music fans may be looking for in early May, nor should it be expected to be. Rather, the elegantly ominous All Born Screaming is another gloriously ethereal peek inside the curious artistic mind of singer-songwriter Annie Clark, whose debut role as a sole-producer only further elevates the singularly experimental artistic expression we’ve come to expect from her. This record boasts as much hellacious fury and despair as the cover art suggests, but also does so with the kind of varied emotional range that has always been at the heart of Clark’s catalog. Devastation and anger spill over on singles like “Broken Man” and “Flea”, delivering the kind of bursting intensity that hard-rock aficionados get out of bed for. “Big Time Nothing” is a deliriously biting kiss-off number that boasts scintillating vocal runs, spitting spoken word, and delicious funk guitar riffs. The cinematic battle-cry of “Violent Times” recalls the most devastating moments of influences like Kate Bush and Sinead O’Connor. All of these dramatic emotional exorcisms build to the expansive title track finale, a collaboration with Cate LeBon that initially feels like a jolting left-turn into breezier alt-pop, before engulfing into another moody, sonic avalanche. It soon becomes clear what a unifying moment the track serves to be for the entire spiritual thread of the album, with its titular lyric reminding us that we’re all born into this chaotic world in the same fashion. We all have our own unique madness to navigate in life, but our origins from the same human condition should further unite us to traverse the challenges of the world together. It’s a chilling moment that soulfully punctuates another bold artistic statement from one of today’s truly unique rock innovators.
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