20. Reckless Kelly- Long Night Moon
19. Pistol Annies- Annie Up
18. Will Hoge- Never Give In
17. Hank 3- Brothers Of The 4x4
16. Jason Boland & The Stragglers- Dark & Dirty Mile
15. Guy Clark- My Favorite Picture Of You
14. Lindi Ortega- Tin Star
13. Amanda Shires- Down Fell The Doves
12. Kacey Musgraves- Same Trailer Different Park
11. Fifth On The Floor- Ashes & Angels
10. Brandy Clark- 12 Stories
You rarely see an album title more fitting than this one, there are 12 songs, which made up 12 different stories. This album is the perfect representation of a woman stuck in a typical blue collar, middle class society. It's a life many say they don't want when they're growing up but often get forced into by no fault of their own. The raw honesty of each little story is what makes this album brilliant.
9. Mandolin Orange- This Side Of Jordan
You might have to listen to this album a few times before it sets in because after every listen you pick up a line or two you didn't notice before that pulls it all together. You realize that song you didn't quite understand or connect with finally makes sense. It's a folky instrumentation of fiddle, mandolin, steel, acoustic guitar, all that good stuff. I think the thing that really makes this record incredible is the beautiful harmonies between the duo. It's
so peaceful and pleasing to hear, this is something you'd listen to with big headphones on in your bed with the lights off.
8. Austin Lucas- Stay Reckless
Another one that took me a while to warm up to, but once you do it is well worth it. Punk Americana I think is what people are calling it. There are many great rock moments in songs like "Stay Reckless" and "Alone In Memphis." Songs like "Four Wheels" and "Different Shade Of Red" prove it can belong on a top country album list. Songs like "Splinters" show why so many people this year put it there.
7. Son Volt- Honky Tonk
Like the great Bakersfield sound of the late 50's and 60's that rebelled against the slick orchestral production, most recognizably made famous by Merle Haggard and Buck Owens,
Honky Tonk delivers just that. There are too few albums today that kind of just let go, and be. In combination with many pedal steel led songs in 3/4 time, singer Jay Farrar's voice perfectly wraps around every note to create a simplistic emotional feeling. Nothing fancy or overdone, just simple good old new country songs.
6. Shooter Jennings- The Other Life
Sometimes with Shooter's music for me it is either a hit or a miss, but this one was definitely a hit. This is his best album yet in my opinion. On his previous album
Family Man he talked about his personal life.
The Other Life is just the opposite. The theme of this album is best described by a line from the song "A Har
d Lesson To Learn" when he talked about listening to his dad's old record collection. "You'd think I'd pick up from one of them songs, just one way not to get burnt, but it's the same old bottle, same old blues, and the same hard lesson to learn."
5. Ashley Monroe- Like A Rose
This album only has 9 songs, 9 amazing, real country songs. From her hilarious, witty "Weed Instead Of Roses" to her deep personal ballad "Like A Rose" every song leaves you wanting more. So many women, especially in the mainstream, think they have to release some fiery rock-tinged tough girl songs or super pop slow songs. Ashley's sound can take you back to late 60's Loretta Lynn yet is still refreshing and original.
4. Holly Williams- The Highway
This album just seems like it's what country music should sound like today. It isn't hard twang with a strictly hardcore country instrumentation. It's mainly stripped down and acoustic with beautiful songs and personal stories. It's undeniably country yet still modern. There is no reason it couldn't be successful in the mainstream. "Waiting On June," a song about her grandparents life, is so intimate and bittersweet, it's just, life. Growing up, falling in love, buying a farm, raising a family, getting old, and slowly fading away. She can really paint you a picture with this album, a really, really good one.
3. Jason Isbell- Southeastern
Deciding between the top 3 was one of the hardest things I ever had to do. I had each one at number one at some point and it goes without saying these three are all instant classics. It seems like Jason Isbell gets better and better every album.
Southeastern is his most stripped down record but undeniably his best. The first thing I did after I heard this album was immediately start it over again. He is a perfect example of someone who is doing what they are put on this earth to do. The stories he tells in songs like "Elephant" and "Yvette" leave you on the edge of your seat. You're disappointed when the song ends because you find that it's up to you to decide what happens next. His autobiographical song "Cover Me Up" is so much more than just a love song. It's every single thing good and bad that led him to where he is today. You can say that for pretty much every song on here. The struggles, the hardships, the fitting in and falling apart, feeding off of stories of other people's lives to better our own, or at least find peace that there are others that feel the same way. This record is an example of everything we the fans, as well as the musician need music for. This could be the very beginning of a songwriting legend.
2. John Moreland- In The Throes
Listening to this album was one of my favorite things I did all year. It struck me more emotionally than almost any other album I have listened to, ever. You need to listen to this at a time you can just fall into it, forget about everything else for 39 minutes and I promise you won't regret it. I don't know what it is. Every single line of every single song is like pure gold sound waves making their way into your head. At some times it's almost uncomfortable to listen to. It's like you're this little kid getting screamed at and talked down to by your parents, and you just can't figure out what you did wrong. I guess that is almost the theme of the album, not being able to figure out where in your life you went wrong. I cried during a few songs when I just got overrun by everything I was feeling. It makes you feel uneasy, heartbroken and so damn sad it's not fair, it's just not. But it also leaves you with this feeling of euphoric comfort afterwards, I really can't describe it.
1. Sturgill Simpson- High Top Mountain
As far as songwriting goes, John Moreland and Jason Isbell would have to be the winners here. As far as country music goes, nothing other than Sturgill Simpson's
High Top Mountain deserves to be declared album of the year. For me, the reason music went from yeah I like it, to this is taking over my life was because I fell in love with this hard edged, gritty, raw country sound of the outlaw era. That was long before my time though, which really sucked. I wanted to experience this music I never got to, which led me to the underground world of country music, from there Americana and all those little sub genres. For me, discovering Sturgill was like finding a 500 dollar bill on the ground. Unbelievable. When you listen to country radio today, a lot of the time you have to check to make sure it is country radio you're listening to. Here there is no question, it's pure country and soul. The raw vocals and finger picking rhythms are reminiscent of the past musical styles I love, but his sound is still uniquely his own. This record makes me proud to be a country fan. It's a modernized way to experience everything I never had the chance to musically. It brings you back and makes you excited for the future. For a real fan of country music it will instantly put a smile on your face. Simply, it's just everything country music should be.
It's been a little over two years since the release of Miranda Lambert's highly acclaimed album Four The Record. She just released her new single "Automatic" from her yet to be titled fifth studio album expected sometime this year. It's a song about the good old days and appreciating the little things. She co-wrote it, and it shows. It's always great to see an artist write and sing about things that are close to them and things that they believe in. It's a concept that shouldn't be so rare but unfortunately it is in a mainstream realm. She sings about things like her '55 Chevy that she still owns, growing up in the lower class, and the fact that she doesn't believe in divorce. This song is quite personal to her and I'm glad to see that there are people like Miranda out there on the radio that do care about the quality of the songs they put out. I really do enjoy this song, but the thing is though just because a song isn't super pop or doesn't sing about trucks and beers it doesn't mean it deserves to be rewarded on the highest degree. It's so easy to think just because something is a little different than what everyone else is doing it's groundbreaking and non-conformist. I think this song is a huge step up from 99% of the things on country radio, but in the grand scheme of things it falls a little flat for me. The intro starts in with a guitar and bass drum beat which sounds like a modernized version of "Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way." (Ironically she is wearing a Waylon Jennings tank top on the single cover) The first verse is fairly simple but then the chorus comes in and I think it kind of ruins the theme of the song. The chorus is this big pop country breakdown with some electronic sounds added in. Even more of these modern electronic elements are included at the very end of the song and they just don't fit. It's almost like the song seemed incomplete or too simple so they had to add all this extra stuff to make it fit into the mainstream country norm. This song is about simple things and simple times. It was a perfect opportunity to make a great simple country song using country instrumentation and melodies. She made so many great ones in the past, especially on her two records with her group the Pistol Annies. Lyrically the song is great but it seems like a lost cause because the song itself contradicts a lot of what she is trying to say. Maybe it's because I know what she has done and what she can do that this safe mainstream appealing song doesn't quite do it for me. Keep in mind this is her first single off a new record. Everyone tries to make the first single click with the masses so they are aware they have a new album coming out and will buy it. "Baggage Claim" was her first single off Four The Record. It was super catchy and mainstream appealing and I think it was one of the worst songs on that album. I don't know what's in store for the next album but I'm looking forward to it. Miranda is a great writer who writes from the heart. She can make a great country record if she wants to, she has what it takes. We will have to wait and see.