Well, here we are again!
The second round up of the very best in full-on new country music releases that have caught my attention in the last few weeks. My radio show The Country Mile concentrates on what I call the ‘proper’ stuff, so no pop mainstream artists are covered in this column. I get sent so much for my radio show that it’s both hard for me to cover everything here and I won’t have heard everything either but hope the following will get you going.
Chancey Williams – 3rd Street
Probably my own favourite album from May is the new release from Chancey Williams and his Younger Brothers Band [ which actually also features Brooke Latka on fiddle, so they may need to update to Younger Brothers and Sister Band! ]. From the State of Wyoming, the band have a large and loyal following especially with the Rodeo circuit audience. The newest album, ‘3rd Street’, is for me, just a perfect summer record. One of those that remains commercial sounding but in the very best ways, still retaining a more Traditional sound at the same time. I am thinking that fans of the likes of Brad Paisley, Jon Pardi, Chris Petersen etc will instantly find much to love here.
You have tracks such as ‘Fastest Gun In Town’ and ‘Outlaws’ that are up tempo and immediate and that sound great turned right up. Then the likes of ‘Let It Go’ and ‘I Don’t Mind’ that strip things back and are slower and full of melody. ‘Meet Me In Montana’ features Brooke on co-vocals and her fiddle comes to the fore as well, a proper earworm of a chorus on this one. Kevin Fowler helps out with ‘College’, alongside some humourous lyrics. Opener ‘The World Needs More Cowboys’ is another beast of a song that I can imagine being sung heartily in all the right places. One to get hold of right away.
Mike and the Moonpies – Touch of You – The Lost Songs of Gary Stewart
I cannot lie, before this album was released, Gary Stewart wasn’t an artist I had ever looked at closely enough. Not sure why, perhaps he was just better known in the US than here in the UK. Labelled ‘The King Of Honky Tonk’, he was well known for his vibrato vocals and produced a Southern Rock influenced style of Country. He passed away in 2003 and left us a fine library of music but the songs on this album were previously ‘lost’. During this Lockdown period, Mike and the Moonpies came up with a plan to record a couple from the vaults and it then turned into a full ten track album. I have to thank them for making me more aware of how good Gary actually was.
The album has been playing loudly in the car the last few days and on each run through, I have picked up more and more from the arrangements and the tunes. This will be in the Best Of lists of many discerning Country fans come the end of the year. Most songs are short and sweet, around the two to three minute mark. For such a fantastic band as The Moonpies, this is a perfect marriage, as their own style is clearly influenced by Gary Stewart among others. Opening track ‘Bottom Of The Pile’ is a fine example of this, racing along just right. This is followed by ‘Smooth Shot Of Whiskey’, another more slowed down tune that the Moonpies do so well on their main albums. Incidentally, I never liked whiskey, it never seemed ‘smooth’ to me! I would just say that for anyone with a taste for Honky Tonk Country, this is an essential purchase, it has everything you need on there.
Bryan James – Politics or Religion
An album that is due out shortly, for fans of the Outlaw style that goes back to Merle and Waylon and up to date now with Cody Jinks, Mickey Lamantia etc. James is based out of Killeen, Texas and has that perfect vocal style for this kind of Country. Bryan James has put a top notch band behind him and the sound they have produced is just spot on. It’s a lovely sounding record, so if this is the kind of music you enjoy with other artists, please do add this one to your collections, you won’t regret it.
Justin Jeansonne
On the same level is the new EP from JUSTIN JEANSONNE – HONKY TONK HEAVEN / SIDE A ….. five songs and every one is a winner. The title track is a perfect song of it’s style and we have the unusual sight of an eight minute song, you don’t get many of those in Country music! But ‘Sweet Company’ opens the EP and is just lovely. Around the four minute mark, you think the song is done and then the band come back in for an extended end section, full of pedal steel!
TJ Hernandez
Actually, I do now need to add T.J HERNANDEZ – DESTINATION UNKNOWN to this little ‘Outlaw’ style paragraph too! This is a proper top class collection as well. T.J has one of those massive voices, which suits the slower, emotional kind of songs such as ‘Between A Woman And A Song’ and then can get stuck into ‘Hair Of The Dog’ which Rocks it up a few notches. The Outlaw style can get quite full up and it’s hard to know where to start, I would suggest this trio will be as good a place as any.
Scott Southworth – These Old Bones
I won’t be doing a full review for this one until next month, as the album isn’t out until July 20th but you can pre-order right now and get the first single, ‘Brown Liquor’ right away. It’s a classic Scott Southworth Honky Tonk tune and bodes well for the full album. I have had a sneak peak of this and will just say, if you love what Scott has produced previously, you will also dig this too.
Caitlin Cannon – The Trash Cannon Album
I came across Caitlin Cannon a couple of weeks ago when another website was raving about this album, so I went to investigate and loved what I heard. Twelve tracks across the collection and you can never fully nail down the style, which is really refreshing. The album opens with a straight up Country anthem in ‘Going For The Bronze’, just real good fun and a chorus you will be shouting back at her. But that is followed by ‘Toolbag’ which is a lot more Rocky with an almost Punky attitude to it. Her Facebook page describes her sound as Alt. Country and Indie Folk, so you can guess how wide ranging this selection is. But at all times, its full of melody, Caitlin has a sweet sounding voice at times and can pump it up when needed. ‘Barbers and Bartenders’ is such a good song, possibly my highlight but I would urge you to give this one a go if you can.
Tessy Lou Williams – Self Titled
If you are in the mood for just straight up, pure Country music this month, this is an essential and one of the stand out collections of the year. Austin, TX based Tessy Lou Williams has crafted a set of songs that just sound great, right from the first play. This is full of fiddle and steel guitar, it has the sad songs Country was built on and the more up tempo tunes that we love to move around to as well. REAL Country isn’t dead, don’t believe anyone that tries to tell you that it is. Those people are just not really listening. Give them a copy of ‘TLW’ and then see them squirm!
Quick Roundup – Other Releases to Listen To
BLUEGRASS CHOICE – Finally a quick round up of some quality releases, both albums and EPs around the contemporary Bluegrass scene that have caught my eye. A new male group from North Carolina named THE GREENLINERS have just put out an EP titled ‘Never Looking Back’. Six tracks and a lovely progressive Bluegrass feel to each one, you can purchase this for a very small amount via the usual digital websites. DARYL MOSLEY – THE SECRET OF LIFE is a beautiful record, he has such a pleasing and gentle vocal style, the kind you are just happy to sit back and listen to. Just a really lovely collection. TURKEYFOOT – PROMISE OF TOMORROW is the first full length album from this Colorado based band. It follows on from a previous EP. Again, this is a real nice album, they have crafted some fine tunes and definitely something I would urge you to try out. BRADY STOGDILL – BETTER LATE THAN NEVER is a new album that I also enjoyed. He has previous links with Grammy winner, MICHAEL CLEVELAND, who he has guesting on this CD. Finally, STEVE THOMAS AND THE TIME MACHINE have come up with a cracking album, ‘ALL OF THESE YEARS‘, full of tunes and melodies and all you would need in a Bluegrass album.
As ever, it’s impossible to collate everything that is good in Country music in one article, without this getting as long as ‘War and Peace’. So I would politely nag you to listening to my radio show and finding a whole load more, at a time when singles are being released all the time and too many to list here.
Thanks for reading and I really hope you can go and take a listen to these choices. At a time like this, we all need music to get through it all! Be safe and take care of each other.