Reviews
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Caroline Spence: Spades & Roses
When you think about it, songwriters do an amazing thing. Taking a limited number of notes and a limited number of words, they craft infinite expressions of emotion. They turn the mundane into the sacred, the personal into the universal. It\’s a wonder, really, that there are so many different ways to say — or…
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Peter Bradley Adams: A Face Like Mine
No matter the form, when it comes to art, there are a number of different tacks to take. Some artists continually push their work across new horizons. Neil Young, Leonardo Da Vinci, and Joni Mitchell come to mind, in that regard. Others — Claude Monet, Jason Isbell, and Bonnie Raitt, among them — stand a…
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Rhiannon Giddens: Freedom Highway
Sometimes, a voice comes along at the exact moment in history that it very much needs to be heard. Though Rhiannon Giddens first stepped up to the mic as part of the Sankofa Strings and Carolina Chocolate Drops in 2005, it\’s on her truly stunning new album, Freedom Highway, that she truly finds her voice…
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Amanda Shires: My Piece of Land
Having Dave Cobb produce an Amanda Shires record was inevitable, considering the superlative work he\’s done on her husband Jason Isbell\’s last couple of albums. Alternately playful and poised, My Piece of Land is the wonderful result of that collaboration. Written and recorded as she stared motherhood right in the eye, My Piece of Land…
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Chely Wright: I Am the Rain
There comes a time in all great artists\’ careers when they release their masterpiece. Sometimes, it\’s their debut, as with Shawn Colvin\’s Steady On and Patty Griffin\’s Living with Ghosts. Other times, it comes considerably further into their careers. Rosanne Cash\’s Interiors and Jason Isbell\’s Southeastern both land there, as does Chely Wright\’s new —…
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Lori McKenna: The Bird & the Rifle
When talents as enormous as Lori McKenna and Dave Cobb come together in a studio, the resulting record is bound to be special. Exhibit A: The Bird & the Rifle. Both music-makers have been riding high lately, with hit records and Grammy Awards to spare. But, if any two folks ever deserved such accolades, it\’s…
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Ana Egge & the Sentimentals: Say That Now
Ana Egge is no stranger to collaboration. On her last outing, 2015\’s Bright Shadow, she partnered with the Stray Birds. On her new set, Say That Now, she nabbed the Sentimentals, a folk-rock band from Denmark. The Danes provide a wonderfully complementary mooring for Egge\’s buoyant voice, whether they\’re working through the bluesy rock of…
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Brandy Clark: Sassy, Sentimental, and Sultry at Sold-Out Nashville Show
The thing about shows in Nashville is, even though there are sometimes way too many of them happening at once, local artists gone big often try to do something special for the hometown crowd. So, for her second-ever Music City show with a full band, Brandy Clark played the songs from her upcoming album (Big…
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Hayes Carll: Lovers and Leavers
There comes a time of reckoning in nearly every artist\’s life, a reckoning of youthful wants and maturing needs. Some go kicking and screaming into their next phase, while others go quietly, thoughtfully. Singer/songwriter Hayes Carll chose the latter route on his new Lovers and Leavers LP, a collection of 10 tender tunes that documents…
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Parker Millsap: The Very Last Day
On Parker Millsap\’s new album, The Very Last Day, the young singer/songwriter takes a major sonic leap forward thanks to Gary Paczosa\’s brawny production. And, while the aural landscape certainly warrants acknowledgement, the original compositions definitely deserve admiration. Millsap\’s dexterity in the writing department both belies his youthful age and betrays his old-soul wisdom. Not…