Flatland Cavalry

One Liner: Lubbock's own Americana posse

Wikipedia Genre: Country, Americana, folk rock, Texas country
Home: Lubbock

Saturday

Thoughts: Funny thing, I've written about two of their albums, but never really written much about them.  Meanwhile, in my mind, I felt like I had probably written a full-on biography on them by now.  May just be I'm thinking of someone else.  Either way, this is good stuff.

Flatland was formed in Lubbock in 2012 by vocalist Clete Cordero and drummer Jason Albers.  They had previously performed together, since Junior High, and then even more when college roommates in Midland, but then moved to Lubbock and put together the rest of the band - currently at 6 members.  Their first album was 2016's Humble Folks, which I reviewed a few years ago:

"An in-law went and saw this band live a few weeks back and loved the show.  I had never heard of the band so I thought I'd check it out.  Pleasant enough Texas country stuff, in the vein of Pat Green.  In fact, the lead singer frequently sounds like Green.  "A Good Memory" is a good place to start to hear that similarity.  The hit on here is the one featuring the excellently named Kaitlin Butts [who is also going to be at Two Step this year!].  Who is either an heir to the HEB fortune and therefore it makes sense that she kept that surname, or was hoping for the old Beavis and Butthead crowd to find her and push her into stardom, or has a fantastic seat.  I'm going to imagine it's number 2.  Huh huh, cool.  Butts.  Anyway, "A Life Where We Work Out" boasts 89.6 million streams (up from 4.9 when I first reviewed this), which is damn solid for a Texas country band I've never heard of.

Nice little tune - her voice is nice.  I've been through this album a few times, and if I were still in my Americana 4 Lyfe mindset from post-college, I'd probably hold on to this one, but as it is, I'm cool letting it go."

At the time that album came out, they were getting Turnpike Troubadours comparisons, which totally makes sense.  That disc made it up to #17 on the Billboard Americana/Folk charts, which is also kind of impressive to me.  Before their next album, their original fiddle player left the band and was replaced.  2019's goofily named Homeland Insecurity was the next one, and it is pretty similar to the first one.  The big hit off of that one is a gentle ballad named "Sleeping Alone."  62.2 million streams.

Re-released on a new Greatest Hits album this year, that is where that cover art came from.  Sad as hell song, right there, but also beautiful.

The next disc was 2021's Welcome to Countryland.  No hits on there anywhere near as large as the last one, but "Gettin' By" is sort of up there, for this band.  29.1 million streams.

I was definitely hoping that this would have been a cover of the Jerry Jeff song instead.  But as it is, that is a nice little ditty.  A little Nashvillian for my tastes, with trite lyrics mixed in there, but for some reason I really like the organ.  I also wish they could have synched the nodding heads in that tour bus with the beat of the song.

Finally, we get to 2023's Wandering Star.  Here is what I had to say in my review:

"Flatland Cavalry - Wandering Star.  I don't think I've ever heard a single song from these guys, but I've heard them mentioned with the sorts of bands like Turnpike Troubadours for years.  This is their new 2023 album, and it is really solid southern rock/Americana stuff.  The album keeps starting over in the playlist and I really enjoy the sound.  Like, "The Best Days" is just a really lovely little violin-infused rocker that makes me happy.  "New American Dream" has some good one liners about how we're all going to hell while staring at 5 inch screens.  "Last American Summer" is a wonderful capture of nostalgia for some awkward moments from adolescence.  The top track is "Mornings With You," which features Kaitlin Butts (who is married to the lead singer of the band).  Just over 3 million streams. (up to 6.1 million now)

Why does YouTube call these "Official Visualizer"?  It's a music video.  Visualizer makes it sound like it's just going to be random light show graphics or something, not a nice little short movie about being in love.  And a nice tune about trading in the long night party time for a relaxed morning with a love.  "The Best Days" reaches out for really being a rock and roll tune, but with a pile of fiddle as well.  “The stars go on forever, like a billion fireflies, we’re glowing dust just burning out, lucky to be alive.”  I dig it."

I'd definitely go see this.  My personal opinion is that Turnpike is a better band, but I think they're in the same neighborhood and so this show could be really fun.

Aaron Tippin

One Liner:  Jingoistic 90's country classics.

Wikipedia Genre:  Country

Home: Nashville via Pensacola, FL

Sunday.

Thoughts:  Interesting, because in my mind this is a name that I know, so I figured I'd know the songs too.  Not so much.  Born in Pensacola, Florida in 1958, he was performing in local bars by the 70's within much acclaim.  Wikipedia claims he was working "as a commercial pilot, truck driver and a pipe fitter" by the time he was 20.  A fucking commercial pilot?  At 20?  I feel like this would have gotten more news if Doogie Houser of the skies was flying 747s for American Airlines in 1978.  Simpler time I suppose.  Who knows.  In 1986 he moved to Nashville and became a staff writer for Acuff-Rose, writing songs for Charley Pride, The Kingsmen, and others.  He competed on a reality/talent show on The Nashville Network and that led to a publishing contract in 1987.  That is a wild ride.

His first solo single was released in 1990, and it continues to be his top single.  "You've Got to Stand for Something" has 54.5 million streams on Spotify.  Not related to the sweet ass John Cougar Mellencamp song from Scarecrow, released in 1985.  And not nearly as good either.

I firmly believe that his moustache being too much limited his commercial potential.  He should have taken a page from Alan Jackson's book and had a less terrifying mustache.  Also, his kid should really look away here and there during this song performance.  Too much eye contact, buddy, it's getting creepy.  But, generally good song - classic in the mold of so many preachy 90's country songs.  According to Wikipedia, this became a popular anthem for soldiers in the Gulf War at the time.

Ten albums - and one of the best things about them is that his arm tattoo of a Palmetto is showing on 5 of the covers.  1991's You've Got to Stand for Something, 1992's Read Between the Lines, 1993's Call of the Wild, 1994's Lookin' Back at Myself, 1995's Tool Box, 1998's What This Country Needs, 2000's People Like Us, 2002's Stars and Stripes, 2006's Now & Then, 2013's All in the Same Boat (with Joe Diffie and Sammy Kershaw).  Six went gold and one went Platinum (Read Between the Lines), with three total number one songs.

His second-most streamed song is just awful - called "Kiss This" - a crappy rocker about a lady telling her man off from 2000.  I refuse to play it for you, although it was one of the three #1 songs in his catalog.  The other one sounds vaguely familiar, but I don't really know it.  I suspect it was played at Calhoun's in Sherman, Texas in 1995 and 1996.  Only 5.3 million streams for "That's as Close as I'll Get to Loving You."

There he is, carrying pipe in his job as a pipe fitter.  A real workin' man.  I like the sound of the chorus though, especially when he ratchets it up an octave.  Interesting how he didn't ever quite get as big as the other neo-traditional guys of this time frame.  It was probably the mustache.

Lot's of jingoistic crap in here too, with songs like "Where The Stars and Stripes and the Eagle Fly", "Drill Here, Drill Now," and their ilk.  I actually noticed that Wikipedia lists some albums that aren't on Spotify.  So maybe the jenky label he's with by this point in his career isn't putting him on the Interwebs.  He also owns two hunting supply stores, so if you're ever in Smithville, TN, you should stop on by!

T-Byrd's Country Gold

You know, this might actually be a really fun show.  This is apparently Tracy Byrd, who is also doing a regular show, but playing only his favorite classic country covers from the golden era of jukebox country.  Here is my background on Byrd, just generally: Tracy Byrd.  But maybe for the rest of this post it would be fun to posit about what songs are considered part of the "golden era of jukebox country."

The internet tells me that the 1950's are considered the golden era of jukeboxes.  It also tells me that the 1990's was the golden era for country music because that was when the genre "trickled" into the mainstream and people caught the line-dancing bug.  Because the blurb from Live Nation said it was jukebox country, I am hoping that we are not looking at the 90's, when I would expect that jukeboxes were less in demand around the world.

An anecdote for you here - we actually had a jukebox growing up in my house as a kid. It was freaking rad, even though most of the records in there were just the old 45 singles my mom had from her childhood - imagine lots of Elvis, Patsy Cline, Buddy Holly, etc.  But one of my older siblings had snuck in two modern singles - Devo's "Whip It" and Rick Springfield's "Jesse's Girl."  So, I spent considerable time as a child spazzing out to the amazingly weird sounds of Devo, which probably explains a lot about me today.  I also remember a friend and I using it to prank a girl by playing "Hound Dog" when she picked up the phone.  Sorry, Michelle.  

Anyway, Spotify has a 1993 compilation called Country Jukebox Greatest Hits, Vol. 1, and it is disappointing.  Pretty modern in its song choices.  But a user named Tyler Reed has a pretty legit personal playlist that might hold some fun choices for T-Byrd to bring to the stage.  It even includes "Watermelon Crawl"!  But if T-Byrd would do "I Fall to Pieces," "Mammas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys," "I Love a Rainy Night," "The Devil Went Down to Georgia," "You Never Even Called Me By My Name," "Family Tradition," and "The Gambler," I think we have a pretty solid set of tunes.

Eli Young Band

 One Liner:  Cheesy, well-polished country schmaltz

Wikipedia Genre:  Country

Home: Denton, TX

Saturday.

Thoughts:  Oh, one of these songs is great - I've heard that one before.  Feel like it must be covered by someone else, being that I've never heard of this band, but who knows. This band is made up of guys who met while students at the University of North Texas, in Denton.  Many moons ago, someone at my small college set up a trip to Denton, in a horrific death trap of an old school bus that was (as I recall it) painted purple.  It took us straight to some Denton college bar where we binged our idiot heads off until it then took us back home.  Couldn't tell you anything about the bar, or really even the night, except that this one 'roided out friend decided that he needed to punch the ceiling of the bus until his torn up hand was spraying blood all over everyone.  Freaking Aaron, man.  

Also of note, Eli Young is not the name of one person.  The lead vocals/guitar guy is Mike Eli, and the guitar player is James Young.  Poor Jon Jones on bass and Chris Thompson on drums got their last names dissed by the band.  They're like the disciples with those generic first names!  Mike and James were freshman year roommates, and initially did an acoustic duo named Eli & Young, before meeting the other two and becoming this iteration here.  

Four #1 songs, which is impressive in my mind because I'd never even heard the name of the band before it showed up on this poster.  It sounds like they had some limited success with smaller label albums, got a gig opening for Miranda Lambert, got signed by Republic Nashville, and things blew up.  Their first big single, and still their top streamer, is the deeply cheesy "Crazy Girl."  244.9 million streams.

See what they did there?  He loves her like crazy!  She's not crazy, it's just his love that's so crazy!  His hair looks like Nickelback.  Just painfully treacly lyrics - "silly woman, come here let me hold you, have I told you lately, I love you like crazy, girl."  And yet it has 244 million streams and I have zero, so who is the smart guy now?  

I need you to go and read the comments for this song on YouTube.  I am totally creeped out by this now.  Apparently, many people have taken it to be the song of their relationship and it's weirding me out.  

• "My fiance sings this to me when I'm sick, crying and in physical pain, when my (bi-polar manic depression) heart is hurting, and anytime he knows I need his arms around me. Nothing hits like this song. Nothing."  
• "I was just released from the mental health unit in a hospital. I was admitted for attempting suicide. My guy has stood by me through all my struggles. He is so supportive. I love him like crazy."
• "This was my wedding song. I have PTSD-Veteran. Was in the Military for 13 years and it took a toll on me. My husband still hasn’t divorced me. Most marriages don’t last very long with severe complications from PTSD."  
• "My girl has borderline personality disorder and severe depression. Some days I have to wake her up and get her clothes ready for work. But I love her so much. I love her like crazy. I’d never leave her." 

I don't think they intended an anthem for ladies with mental issues and the guys who stick with them!  Whatever!  "Just Add Moonlight" is so deeply cheesy that it makes me laugh.  Just a tangle of pure cliche.  I wonder how many times they sing the world "girl" in these songs?  They spend a lot of time talkin' to that "girl."

Seven albums - 2002's Eli Young Band, 2005's Level, 2008's Jet Black and Jealous, 2011's Life at Best, 2013's 10,000 Towns, 2017's Fingerprints, 2022's Love Talking - along with some EPs, a live album, and a greatest hits compilation.  They also have two new singles, so I expect they'll have a new disc ready by the time they hit the stage in April.  They also do a cover of a silly song that I love - "Amy's Back in Austin" with someone named George Birge.

Here is the song that really rang a bell when I heard it.  "Even if it Breaks Your Heart."  199.9 million streams.  I love the sound of it - the backing tune has some southern rock/Tom Petty flavor, and the chorus soars.

Originally performed by co-writer Will Hoge, but that isn't the version I know.  It is this one.  That video is amazing when fireworks and then glitter fall behind them as they are jamming.  Now I can't get the Nickelback comparison out of my head.  Nominated for multiple Grammys and ACM awards, but no wins.

Oh, they also had one of the deeply disappointing songs on that Tom Petty tribute album.  Maybe that is why my brain compared them to him, but it makes me sad to compare them.  This is all very nice sounding, but it makes me think of the way those well-polished 90's country bands did - the Diamond Rio or Little Texas style schmaltz and glamour - except without the punch of nostalgia that those older bands give me.  I don't expect that I'd go see it.

Quick Hits, Vol. 351 (AG Club, Charley Crockett, Electric Callboy, Lenny Kravitz)

AG Club - BRODIE WORLD.  This is one of those bands where I liked them from the ACL poster, so I keep chasing that moment I had when they sounded really good a few years ago, with diminishing returns.  In this instance, what I really want is for this to be BROCKHAMPTON, but it continues to be a lesser, uneven animal that looks like a BROCKHAMPTON but is just not.  The album opener has an interesting beat that sucks me in, but the lyrics never go anywhere.  But at least it is mostly rap and none of the singing that takes out many of these tunes.  The top track is the second one on the disc, "Barry," with 1.6 million streams and the kind of bouncy beat and chorus that can get a mosh pit excited.

WHATCHUGOANDO?!  I also realized this weekend that this song is used in a Mountain Dew commercial with a Yeti playing kickball.  As I listen to this whole disc again, I think I like it better than I thought when I started the review.  I definitely do not like the singing parts, but the beats on just about the whole album are solid.  Not too generic, but also not so weird that you can't groove to them.  I feel like we walk that line these days in the rap world, with most folks just going for completely boring vaguely trap beats.  This at least keeps you on your toes.  But "The Iron Giant" just yanks the rug out with its jenky non-beat and sing-song vocals for the first third.  You get to that point and start to forget what you had been liking here.  The song switches beats repeatedly and sooner or later gets to a banger sound, but by then I've lost the thread.

Charley Crockett - $10 Cowboy.  Until seeing him with a group last year at the Two Step, I didn't realize how polarizing this guy could be.  And I don't understand it at all.  He's got an unimpeachably classic sound, with a drawl that could float boats over the dams clogging every Texas river.  I think it sounds amazing.  And fun.  And different.  When you hear a CC song start up, you know who it is.  You don't have to search through your country music databank to figure out if this is one of the many generic, young players in Nashville.  I appreciate that.  Anyway, this album is like all of the other ones before it - classic country action with clever lyrics.  The title track is the top streamer with 6 million streams.

I don't care if it is a schtick, it sounds freaking great.  "America" has a little funkiness like that "I'm Just a Clown" track from the Man from Waco album.  Anyway, if you like his stuff, this will be right up your alley because it sounds remarkably like everything else he's ever done.

Electric Callboy - TEKKNO.  Very unpleasant album.  I think Drew Magary must have brought them up at some point, but this is a mix of hardcore metal and dance music with lots and lots of screaming.  Their bio claims that their innovative sound mixes German Schlager with deathcore and hard-style influenced industrial metalcore.  I don't even like typing out those words, much less listening to any of it.  Fascinatingly, several of these songs have a ton of streams.  "We Got The Moves" has 111.7 million!

That is definitely the most tuneful of their tunes, but it definitely feels like Lonely Planet doing a bit.  But after that song, it definitely gets more scream-y and angry.  I bet this would be ridiculous in person though.  But as far as keeping this disc to listen to, no thanks!

Lenny Kravitz - Blue Electric Light.  Kind of a bummer, really.  I loved his first three albums.  Still do.  Mama Said is unimpeachable from start to finish.  But this is just mediocre stuff.  Almost has a Prince vibe to it?  I wonder if that was intentional.  "Human" has the most streams at just over 4 million.

His voice still sounds great, I just don't get anything out of that tune.  Just completely milquetoast generic easy rock.  I can see that woman drumming her head off, but it sure sounds like a drum track too.  The album overall doesn't get me anywhere exciting, so I will let it go.

ACL 2025: Guessing via Big Tours for 2025

Howdy friends!  It's about that time again, right?  The 2025 lineup should be announced in about 4 months, so it is time to make foolish guesses about what could happen based on the limited information available to me.  I am going to try to use AI again, just to see if it has gotten any better.  I should probably do a few others, but the first one I will do is tied to a Pitchfork article that came out yesterday talking about the 65 Most Anticipated Tours of 2025.  I'm sure 40 of these tours are going to be for some indie garbage I have never heard of, who will absolutely not be gracing the stage at ACL, but I need some way to figure out who is on the road, and this will kickstart that process.  And adding some others in here as well, even if not on that Pitchfork list.

Seeing NIN at Red Rocks is freaking wild, man.  That would have been deeply rad.

The blaring siren in my heart right now is for the possibility of Oasis.  I had a shocking moment not that long ago while hanging with two of my friends before a show, when I mentioned how much I hoped that Oasis would be at ACL and both of them acted like I just said I wanted to hump their grandmother.  A visceral, absolutely disgusted reaction.  Fascinating.  I'm still really surprised.  I did not know there were true Oasis haters out there.  I'd travel to a show, if I could have scored tickets when they went on sale.  So, we'll look at them first.

I'm also generally looking at bigger things.  Like, I know Iron & Wine or Soccer Mommy may be a possibility (please!?!), but I want bigger font artists in this investigation.  But I'm also leaving stuff out where I feel like the answer has to be no - Metallica, Kendrick Lamar, Dua Lipa, Tyler, the Creator, Shakira, Katy Perry, Usher.

• Oasis.  So, interestingly, when their tour was originally released, it was going to hit like 8 places for a very limited tour.  Now, their website shows a buttload of dates.  They start July 4 in Cardiff, Wales, play 5 in Manchester, 5 in London, etc. and then five shows in the US.  Chicago, Jersey, and L.A., between 8/28 and 9/7.  After those American shows they head to Mexico and London, with a delicious-looking three week gap between September 28 and October 21.  The ACL dates are October 3-5 and 10-12.  Would be an amazing get, no matter what my dumb friends might believe because their dumb!  I choose to believe - YES!
• Father John Misty.  I still haven't jumped into his new album.  Too much stuff to slog through these days!  But I generally enjoy the guy.  His tour starts up in TN on 2/12, hits some US dates all in the eastern half of the country, and then wanders over to Europe.  As of now, the last date on his calendar is 8/30 for a festival in Birmingham, England.  Makes sense to me that he would head back to the States to hit the western side of the country for the remainder of the year, so I feel like this is a good possibility.  Yep.
• AC/DC.  Would be RAD!  Never seen them live, and while I know that by now I'd be getting a bastardized version of what is left of the band and some replacement players, who cares.  The Prime show Rogue Heroes uses a ton of classic AC/DC as the soundtrack and it got me all geeked up.  Anyway, their current tour hits Dallas in April and peters out by the end of May, so my instinct is that this is a no.
• Olivia Rodrigo.  She is playing Lolla Chile, Argentina, and Brazil, all in March, and then Lolla Paris in July, which seems like a good indicator.  13 festival dates on her calendar for 2025.  That definitely makes this feel more like a possibility than I thought when I added her on here.  Why couldn't she be the Dua Lipa/Pink type add for this year?  Feeling it.
• Billie Eilish.  God, I really hope not.  Tour starts in Australia in February, and as of now, ends on July 27 in Ireland without ever coming to America.  That is certain to change, so sadly for my personal tastes this is a real possibility.  But unclear for now.  I'm just going to ignore it and hope that Rodrigo takes the pop star space on the poster.
• Pearl Jam.  IT'S FUCKING TIME, MAN!!!  They kick off in April in Florida, roll up the east coast, and then are apparently done by May 18 in Pittsburg.  I don't buy it.  Also, I really really want them to come back.  I will sell you my children for these shows.  They just got announced as the top artist at Jazz Fest in New Orleans, so they're going to add some festival dates!  Until they announce more dates, unclear at this time.
• As an aside, Jazz Fest also has My Morning Jacket, Dave Matthews, Lenny Kravitz, Kacey Musgraves, The Revivalists, and Goose.  I really like what they have going on.  April 24 - May 4 (and that is the issue there, you go one weekend and may miss a ton of the top tier stuff - if you want Pearl Jam, you get MMJ, but you do not get DMB or Goose.  That part kinda sucks.).
• Denzel Curry.  Man, his new album is fun as hell.  Strangely, my work has blocked the ability to look at his tour schedule.  That is weird.  But, per Ticketmaster, he is playing Stubbs in April.  I've seen acts turn around a show that close to still show at ACL, but it doesn't feel like this would be one.  Also, he plays Red Rocks with Freddie Gibbs and Earl Sweatshirt on Halloween and that sounds CRAZY.
• Bright Eyes.  Never really cared much for the Bright Eyes thing.  Assuming he doesn't cancel his tour again, they play Austin at the end of February.  Meh, I guess he could swing back around as the rest of the tour ends in July at a Spain festival.  I don't feel great about it though.
• Fontaines D.C.  I still have not reviewed that new album, but I can tell you here that it is greatness.  Their tour gets to the States by mid-April, and they play Stubbs on April 26.  The tour ends on August 21 in Austria.  Doesn't feel like this will happen with those two data points.
• Bruce Springsteen.  I guess ol' Bruce last year, based upon a nice gap in his touring schedule that perfectly lined up with the ACL calendar.  WRONG.  This time, his tour stops (as of now) on July 3 in Milan, Italy.  I doubt we'll ever get him anyway, but that schedule leaves me no reason to believe he's coming.
• Post Malone.  I heard that Posty was supposed to be at ACL last year but pulled out.  His current tour includes San Antonio on May 7 and Arlington on May 9, and ends on July 1 in San Francisco.  If I hadn't heard the rumor that he was supposed to come last year, I'd say no way he was coming this time.  But I think we need to keep an eye on that touring schedule and see if he adds dates.  Lukewarm on that one.
• Charlie XCX.  Going with a no.  She is playing the Moody Center on April 22 and 23.  I know it makes me old to complain about her popularity, but I just don't get the excitement about brat at all.  She'd have the time, as her tour ends on August 10, but I doubt it with two shows in Austin already scheduled for this year.
• (definitely skipping some weird crap in this list, like something called Circuit des Yeux with their "frenetic new song 'God Dick'."  Nope)
• Franz Ferdinand.  They start the tour in Europe in February, and hit the states by March 24.  They don't come anywhere south at all, the closest is a Missouri show, and then they end up back in Europe again.  Rome at the end of August is their final published show.  I think that makes them ripe to add some more dates and show up here for the Fest.  yes.
• Nine Inch Nails.  So, they just teased a tour, saying that some information had leaked but that they wanted to hold off on the announcement until L.A. wasn't getting destroyed.  Nothing concrete yet, so we had better come back to this one.  That being said, I would freaking LOVE to see them play live and get all back up in my feelings from 1994 or so.  So, since I wrote that original text, they have released the touring schedule.  And it seems like good news.  They hit Houston and Fort Worth in mid September, and the tour ends on September 18 in L.A.  That means they skip Austin and San Antonio with the tour, and then have time after the tour to roll back to Texas and make it happen.  I like it!  Will go with a yes on this one too!
• Sabrina Carpenter.  This is going to sound like a lie, but I still have not heard her song.  I know that by now it is a huge tune and an SNL skit and the whole thing, I've just never gotten around to it.  All that her website lists is Europe from March through July 5, so no good feel that she would be here in October.  She played Austin last fall at the Moody, so she could definitely come back through.  Not feeling likely as of today.
• Dead and Company.  I don't think they are leaving Vegas.  I would love this, and in fact have purchased tickets to one of the Sphere shows in April, but I don't see them coming out of the bubble.
• Jack White.  Another that felt really perfect until I looked at his tour.  he plays ACL Live at the Moody Theater on May 4 and 5, and so I don't see him turning right back around for another trip to Austin for the Fest.
• ScHoolboy Q.  As of now, the website only shows dates in Jan and Feb.  Doesn't feel like the kind of tour where they are hiding the ball a month out, so it seems like that will be all he wants to do for the Blue Lips tour.  Oh well.
• Deftones.  They play the Moody Center on March 12, and the show isn't sold out, so I don't see a reason to have them swing back through.
• Tyler Childers.  Man, the last time I saw him it was a real let down.  Hopefully by now he has stepped up his entertainment level.  But, for the first time on this list, he actually has all of his tour listed so that I can see that he will be in Ohio during weekend one and Tennessee during weekend two, so that is a NO.
• Jason Isbell. He plays Austin for three nights in a row from April 3 to April 5 (and I need to get a ticket!) so I don't see how he would come back around for the Festival a few months later.
• Ed Sheeran.  This bro fiddin' to play Bhutan next week.  I don't even know where Bhutan is, y'all.  Dude is just out there stealing "Let's Get It On" and making bank.  No American dates on the tour at all, and it goes through September 7.  They could be waiting to announce the US leg of the tour, but I don't really feel this one.
• My Chemical Romance.  They are coming through Arlington, and I seriously considered running up there to see the show.  I know, a man of my age and stage should not be jonesing to hear the little emo nerds blaring the Black Parade, but I love it.  Short tour, only ten shows, and ending on September 13.  I know it is possible, just doesn't sound realistic.
• Coldplay.  I think these bros have been on tour for eleven straight years, just circling Asia over and over and selling out every stage.  Right now, their website shows Mumbai, Ahmedebad, Hong Kong, Seoul, and then the US - and every single show is sold out.  They play two shows at El Paso, for reasons, and both are sold out.  El Paso?  FR?  But the run ends on September 8 in London.  So they'd have room to announce us.  Also of note, they do not go to Chicago on their US tour that otherwise dances around that area, and there is a three week gap surrounding Lollapalooza's 7/31 to 8/3 dates.  Hmmmmmmmmm.  They could definitely announce that they'll be at both Lolla and ACL?  My issue now is that I'd be down with the classic tunes, but wouldn't really want to hear the new Chainsmokers-ass stuff.  Interesting though, definitely smoke here.
• MJ Lenderman (I know I said only big artists, but I wanted to run this one down, dammit.)  he plays Austin (Emo's) in February, but I can't get there.  Which blows.  His tour ends in August, so I see no hard reason that he would end up here.
• Wilco.  They play a few Texas shows in May, but skip Austin.  The tour halts at June 29, so I see no reason that they'll come back through for us.  Who knows.

So, for those keeping score at home, I am seeing hope with the following artists: Oasis, Pearl Jam, Father John Misty, Nine Inch Nails, Franz Ferdinand, and Olivia Rodrigo.  That would be a pretty sick top three for me.  If they tacked on Coldplay?  90's guy paradise, baby.

Waylon Wyatt

One Liner:  Acoustic and a holler from an Arkansas kid who looks up to Zach Bryan

Wikipedia Genre:  No Wikipedia, but country

Home: Hackett, AR

Sunday.

Thoughts:  Dangit.  I'm never going to remember the names of all of these people.  Like Zach Bryan getting popular at the same time as Luke Bryan and Zac Brown.  Now I have this mishmash of Waylon Jennings and Wyatt Flores, who sounds like Zach Bryan.  What is my brain going to do with all of this information?  Also, another vibrato/tremolo mastermind going on here.  STOP IT.  On par with those lady singers singing in italics.  Not a fan.

I know you'll be shocked, but the kid does not have a Wikipedia page.  I say kid with specific reason, dude's photos online look like a 14 year old.  Instead, he is the ripe old age of 17, and was raised in Hackett, Arkansas.  He was inspired by Tyler Childers and Zach Bryan at age 15 to start writing songs.  He lightly blew up on TikTok, with over a million streams on there, and has translated that to some opening gigs for Dwight Yoakum.  Pretty slick.

Eight total songs available on Spotify, most of them collected onto the one EP, 2024's Til the Sun Goes Down.  Top track by a good bit is "Arkansas Diamond" with 39.9 million streams.

Like all of these tunes, the instrumentation is super basic (and well-done).  Three chords and a voice!  Well, not all of them.  He's got a song with a dude named Bayker Blankenship that involves drums and some other instruments.  I do not enjoy that song or the way Bayker spells his name.  But this guy in general reminds me of one of the solo dudes who was here last year, I can't put my finger on it.  This is his second-most streamed tune, called "Everything Under the Sun" with 17.3 million streams and this is the one that really reminds me of someone.  Now I need to go look at all of last year's artists.

Oh, it's the one about still being a lump of coal!  Dylan Gossett!  I knew I'd get there.  I gotta say, seeing him play that song live next to a lake makes me like it more.  That is probably dumb to say, but it is true.  His emotiveness in it sounds more real when I can see his face scrunching up.  Although, he should probably get that guitar in out of the rain.  I just got goose bumps on the end of that chorus.  That is a good tune.

Sure, I'd try this out.

Willow Avalon

One Liner: Cutesy country with too much tremolo affectation for my tastes

Wikipedia Genre: No Wikipedia, but country, Americana
Home: NYC (via rural Georgia)

Sunday.

Thoughts: First impression was that this is pretty enjoyable little country stuff, but I have to say that the tremolo that she adds to her voice in a lot of these songs makes me really annoyed.  I can't stand when Post Malone does that stuff, and it is creating the same feeling here.  Just sing the damn note. 

No Wikipedia, but for some reason there is a two-page word document that just downloaded to my computer with a very in depth biography of her.  She's from rural Georgia, and her first word was apparently Elvis.  She taught herself guitar at age 12, left home at 15, and briefly lived in her car.  She now lives in NYC, but when she was 14 she earned an opening gig for the Drive By Truckers in Athens, GA, which is a pretty big deal. "Willow gained overnight fame via a massively viral late-2022 video in which she gave a tour of her apartment, showing off her now-departed pet possum Bowie (whom Willow often dressed in sweaters and cowboy hats) along with such thrifted treasures as a set of medical encyclopedias from the ’40s, a Stainer violin with a rattlesnake tail stuck inside, and the antique typewriter on which she writes many of her lyrics."  I couldn't find that video on YouTube, which is too bad.

One album, 2024's Stranger, and then a 2024 EP as well called Country Never Leaves.  The early hit single, which ended up on the album, is called "Drivin'" and has 5.2 million streams.

I get no country vibes in there at all, just more like a Stevie Nicks thing.  That is definitely an outlier compared to the rest of her tunes, which are more directly country for sure.  The biggest streamer overall is from the new album, "Tequila or Whiskey" with 6.5 million streams.

Yeah, it's fine.  The vocal affectation is still really bothersome to me, but otherwise it's a cutesy little number that gets my head bobbing.  I don't think I'd go see this one though.

Noeline Hofman

One Liner: Beautiful and basic country music with great lyrics and a Zach Bryan co-sign

Wikipedia Genre: No Wikipedia, but country, Americana
Home: Canada

Saturday.

Thoughts: The Zach Bryan effect continues to pay dividends.  Her top song on Spotify, by a million miles, is a Zach Bryan duet called "Purple Gas."  You do one of those songs, and people notice for sure.  Her song though, which is pretty cool.  So, while that track has 39.9 million streams, the other six songs she has in her catalog have about 2.3 million when combined.  Here you go with the big hit.

Those fan generated videos like this are so strange - do these people send all of these clips directly to Bryan?  To his management company?  Weird.  Nice little tune though.  Funny though, I always thought that gas was red.  When I used to drive a diesel Jetta many years ago, my old man had a tanks of dyed Ag Diesel, that I would absolutely fill up on every time I went to his place.  No policeman was going to check the tank of a little squirt of a Jetta, so take that Mr. Taxman!  Suck it!

According to a YouTube video about how to pronounce that name it is like no-ee-lean.  But when you hear her say it herself, it is no-lean.  She country as hell, y'all.

I have tried and failed to type her name just about every way that is possible.  No Wikipedia, very little about her out there that is simple to find.  The Rolling Stone article about her is blurred out so that I can't read it, but if she is getting RS attention then that is something.  Her label says she is a 20 year old from the Badlands of Southern Alberta, Canada who is currently on tour with Charley Crockett and Wyatt Flores.  Those are some solid compatriots!  Even without knowing much about her background, I will say that her sound is impeccable.  Great lyrics, great voice, just a really nice thing to hear in my earholes all day.

One story is that she was enjoying breakfast at home on the morning of Canadian Thanksgiving when her phone blew up.  "@zachlanebryan mentioned you in their story," and the rest is history.  Once that tag lands, the people swarm.  And they should, this is really good.  The other song with the most streams so far is "August," with just over a million streams.

Makes me think of those old school cowboy songs like Don Edwards would sing with a discussion of harvest time and taking care of the herd.  Basic and beautiful.  I would absolutely go see this live.  I'm not saying she will be the Sierra Ferrell of this year, but I could see my friend group having a similar reaction to this as they did to that last year.

Quick Hits, Vol. 352 (The Cure, Childish Gambino, Strand of Oaks, Willie Nelson)

The Cure - Songs of a Lost World.  You definitely know that this is the Cure when the first song begins.  Chock full of moody ass synths, weird little echoey sounds, a slow drumming that sounds dragged, and no lyrics until the tune is half way over.  When they start, hey, guess what?  Sounds depressing!  "This is the end of every song that we sing, the fire burned out to ash and the stars grown dim with tears..."  I think the problem with trying to listen to the Cure is that their highs are so freaking high, that you're always searching and hoping for another "Pictures of You," which is an absolutely perfect song.  "Just Like Heaven" is one of my favorite dance songs ever.  They have so many that are just spectacular at combining spot on lyrics with music that matches the mood without a doubt, whether that is silly happiness or morose introspection or lovelorn confusion.  Also funny, the second song does a three minute intro too, but this one is a little more upbeat and militaristic with the drums, before Smith starts singing about how sad everyone will be when they're far away.  "A Fragile Thing" is the top track after the first song, and I discount the stream counts for "Alone" because I think people try the first track out and then move on.  7.3 million streams, so we aren't breaking any records here.

That opening piano riff reminds me of a rap song, maybe Ice Cube.  But then when the bass kicks in, this sounds purely like a Cure song.  And even more so when Smith immediately sings about kissing, crying, and dying in the first line or two.  The "nothing you can do" repeated in the chorus is good, and sing-along-able, but these lyrics aren't anything nearly as good as the classics.  I like that song though.  It has been on the radio a good amount recently, and I find that I want to hear it when it comes on.

"Warsong" starts off kind of cool, in that they actually have a different sound for a moment with whatever accordion thing that is with the plucked strings.  I like that too.  "Drone:Nodrone" is a lot more upbeat sounding, even while it is a pretty sad suicide song.  Right after that, we are back to another pure Cure track with super sad lyrics and a laconic tune that is instrumental for almost half the tune.  Almost funny how much some of these songs stick to an exact script.  It's like a jam band for the goths - instead of noodling around on a banjo it's moody synth chords for eight minutes.  I guess, at the end of the day, I sort of dig the vibe of the overall album, but there just isn't any one song here that makes me get excited or interested.  Also, could be because my life is pretty great, so I really can't associate with someone moping about their lost love or their impending death.

Childish Gambino - Altavista.  In general terms, I don't much care for Gambino.  I like his as an actor for sure, but my prior time spent listening to his music has always left me feeling underwhelmed.  That whole "THIS IS AMERICA" track had an amazingly killer video, but the song itself is pretty dang dumb.  So, I came into this disc with prejudice and a predisposition to pan it and move along.  Instead, I think it is really interesting.  At times, it sounds like The Love Below/Speakerboxxx where the two Outkast guys did their own thing for a disc.  Some jazzy little singing stuff, some hard rapping, some quirky hip hop bits.  When he sings "Algorhythm" it totally reminds me of something that Big Boy has sung before.  "Sweet Thang" is more like a Prince tribute, which also seems like an Andre 3000 bit. "Human Sacrifice" is like a Weeknd song. "Final Church" is like an Anderson.Paak tune.  "Little Foot Big Foot" is just weird.  And of course, it is the top track with 12.5 million streams.

Another great video for sure, but I don't get at all why the song needed to shift.  There is zero connection between the wild first 3/4 and the boring rap bit by Young Nudy at the end.  Just end the dang song.  Weird thing is that the album cut does a better job of keeping the two halves united.  Weird to make a different version for the video?  I don't love the whole album, some of the songs get to dragging on for me, but overall I think it is definitely one of the more interesting rap albums I've heard in a while.

Strand of Oaks - Miracle Focus.  For a while, I couldn't tell the difference between this guy and The War on Drugs guy, but this album definitely removes any confusion.  Some of this very much sounds like the weirder, synthy era of Arcade Fire - when "Navigator" has come on as I am working, my brain has absolutely asked if this is a new Arcade Fire song tossed into my queue.  "Future Temple" has a similar vibe - I wonder if that female singer is the lady from AF?  Either way, this album feels like it was intended to be a dance record, which is not what I would have said about prior discs.  Guessing that was intentional - don't we all need some party time right about now?  Very few streams overall, so this one is not hitting anyone in a major way.  Top track is "Party at Monster Lake" with 104k.

That initial riff makes me think of "Where is My Mind?" each time.  But that song sounds more like what I am used to with this guy - kind of brooding indie rock that sounds vaguely sad.  But I think you could still try dancing to that one, even with the lower emphasis on synths.  I don't know about the disc.  I think I want to like it more than I actually do, but when it restarts I'm kind of ready to move on.

Willie Nelson - The Border.  Fascinatingly good album.  I seriously can't understand how this guy can still put together cogent and tuneful songs, at age 392.  Like, the title track is a really well-written tale of working the Texas border and the dangers, toils, and snares attendant there.  And it sounds great too.  Very obviously a Willie song, but also with a cool dose of Mexican flair.  I assume he is still writing all of this, and color me impressed.  "I Wrote This Song For You" is also a lovely little Willie classic that also nods to the fact that he may not be long for this world.  "The Border" is the top streamer with 1.8 million.

The imagery woven into that tune is just truly perfect.  Ah, well, nevermind.  The YouTube notes say that this was written by Rodney Crowell (who is a great songwriter as well) with Allen Shamblin.  I'll stay impressed with Willie's version of it anyway.  "Kiss Me When You're Through" had me listening very closely to the lyrics, in case Willie had gotten X rated in his old age.  Overall, an enjoyable disc.  

Vincent Mason

One Liner:  Another newcomer making country with rock edges

Wikipedia Genre:  Country

Home: Roswell, GA

Sunday.

Thoughts:  Lol.  I saw a Wikipedia page for his name and was like "oh wow, didn't expect this dude to have a Wikipedia."  That is because he doesn't.  But instead, he shares his name with one of the three dudes from De La Soul - Vincent Mason Jr., a/k/a Maseo, Pasemaster Mase, and Plug Three.  His laugh was the humongous laugh at the start of the Gorillaz song "Feel Good Inc."

Anyway, not that dude.  He claims his influences are Parker McCollum and John Mayer.  But the most popular song makes me think of Chris Martin from Coldplay trying to make a country song.  "Hell is a Dance Floor" currently has 37.9 million streams.

You hear that?  The guitar strums at the start sound like "Yellow," and then his voice with a touch of whisper is some Rush of Blood to the Head-era Martin.  Good tune though.  Overall, I think this guy is solid.  Not the best or most powerful voice around, but it's good and emotive.  I hate how hard it is to find simple biographical information about the young crop of artists now.  I've read three things, and they all pretty much say the same few dumb facts.  He grabbed a guitar in college and seized his potential.  He toured with some people.  Blah blah blah.

Found one though.  He played basketball and football in high school, but would just sing a bit as he went around doing whatever he was doing.  He didn't think anything of that, until he went to Ole Miss and started messing around in his spare time with lyrics and his guitar.  When the pandemic shut down college, he went home and really dug in to the music thing, drawing his inspiration from the pop sensibility of John Mayer and the country twang of McCollum.  When it was time to go back to school, he told his parents that he was interested in Nashville.  They backed him, and he transferred to Lipscomb University.  Now he's got a big hit!

After that one above, his biggest streamer is "A Little Too Good," which was apparently an assignment in his songwriting class that worked out!  5.9 million streams.

Nice little basic strummer.  With John Mayer as the stated inspiration, I can hear it in there.  The pensive love tune that hops up into a bop after a bit.  Too bad he's going to get the first slot on Sunday morning, but still, worth checking out for me.

Miranda Lambert

One Liner: One of the Queens of country music

Wikipedia Genre: Country, Country Rock, Alternative Country
Home: Lindale, Texas

Saturday

Thoughts:  I figured that I had written about her before, but other than a few album reviews, I never really had gotten into her backstory before.  It is a pretty good story, in my opinion.

Born in Longview, Texas, which is out in East Texas, in 1983.  She was actually raised in Lindale, which I have on my radar because a friend from college is from there and also because I used to always incorrectly sing the lyrics to Robert Earl Keen's "Lynnville Train" as being about the Lindale Train. Her parents met while her dad was an undercover narc at SMU, while her mom was attending a camp on campus.  I would LOVE to hear further backstory about that meet up between an undercover cop and the teenager at a camp.  Her parents married several years later, became private investigators, and then formed a faith-based ministry that sought to offer help to victims of domestic violence.  Her dad had played in a country-rock band called Contraband in the 1970's, and so Miranda started singing early.  By high school, she sang with The Texas Pride Band and fronted the house band at a place in Longview which also launched Brooks & Dunn.

At 16, she appeared on the same talent show that had launched LeAnn Rimes, and got a chance in Nashville out of it.  But she didn't like the "pop" country she was later presented with in Nashville.  So, she came back to Texas, asked her dad to teach her the guitar, and in 2001 she released her first self-titled album.  That one is not available on Spotify.  She spent the next few years opening for Texas artists like Jack Ingram and Kevin Fowler, and in 2003, she appeared on Nashville Star (like American Idol but for country) and placed third.  That appearance led to her signing with a label.

Her first album with that label, 2005's Kerosene, was an instant hit.  Opened at #1 on the Country charts and went platinum.  To hear it today, in my opinion, it sounds very much like the Dixie Chicks music from that time frame.  Strong and independent, some harmonies (not as much as the Chicks for sure), and a brassy confidence.  The top track, by a lot, is the title tune.  69.8 million streams.

Like if Natalie Maines made a solo record back then, this would have been on it.  I don't recall hearing this song prior to now though, so just completely off of my radar.  Also, she seems so angry in that video, I am sort of terrified.  She was nominated for a Grammy for that one.  

Her next album was 2007's Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, which featured one of her top tracks overall even to this day.  "Gunpowder and Lead" is in the wheelhouse of "Goodbye Earl" and the ladies fighting back against the dickhead men in their lives.  120.5 million streams.

No official music video is kind of disappointing.  I wanted to see her shooting dudes.  A couple other tunes on here break the 20 million stream count - this album sounds a lot like the first one, but maybe just a little more rock and roll.

2009's Revolution features a great cover of "Time to Get a Gun," a song that was hot during the time I lived in Dallas (as sung originally by Fred Eaglesmith).  That is an ignored track on here, as this album blew up and resulted in a much bigger profile.  9 CMA nominations, and she won female vocalist of the year and album of the year.  Then she won a Grammy for "The House That Built Me."  That is the top streamer from this disc with 164.9 million streams.

Over 100 million views of that video too.  And fascinating to me also, because I don't think I have ever heard that song before right now.  And yet it was apparently huge - platinum and a Grammy - but just never hit my radar.  It's beautiful.  And I love the sentiment of it all, I think a lot of us have fond and nostalgic memories of the home where we grew up.

Her next album was a collaborative effort with her band called the Pistol Annies.  I didn't write this one up - 2011's Hell on Heels - but I did write up their follow up album in 2015.  "9. Pistol Annies - Interstate Gospel.  This is surprisingly good.  I had dismissed it when seeing it released, thinking that Miranda Lambert (one third of this lady-centric Nashville supergroup, also including Ashley Monroe and Angaleena Presley) is too Nashville country for my tastes.  But for the most part, this is more like a Dixie Chicks thing, and less of a Big & Rich thing.  Now don't get me wrong, they stick to many of the usual, current Nashville tropes like smoking dope and divorce and farming.  But the guitars and harmonies are irresistible anyway.  "Cheyenne" and "Best Years of My Life" and "Got My Name Changed Back" are all good or fun.  "Sugar Daddy" is less so.  But overall, an actual fun album."  The biggest track from this one is the title track, "Hell on Heels," with 55.2 million streams.

Pretty dang tasty.  Like if the Highwaywomen were about being badass.  Also, though, really seems like Miranda is the top tier voice when they sing their own bits. " 

Next came the originally titled Four The Record, also released in 2011.  It features another big time hit, "Mama's Broken Heart," with 202.6 million streams.

That one rings a bell.  Also in 2011, Lambert married Blake Shelton.  In 2012, she made her acting debut by appearing on Law & Order: SVU.  She claims that she didn't even really want to act, but that she wanted to do the show so that she could get autographs of the actors on the show.  Funny.

2014's Platinum isn't my cup of tea as much - feels like she is using drum machines and vocal effects where she never did that sort of thing previously.  Maybe it is because she has Little Big Town on here, or Blake Shelton is ruining her life.  I dunno.  The big hit is more traditional though, and features fellow top-tier singer Carrie Underwood.  "Somethin' Bad."  155.5 million streams.

New to me, but their harmonies are worth the price of admission.  Sadly, for the purposes of this blog, I think I like Carrie's voice better than Miranda's.  That is unfortunate.  In between this and the next two albums, it appears that the marriage to Blake Shelton came to an end.  Afterwards, she dated singer Anderson East, then the Turnpike frontman, before marrying New York City police officer Brendan McLoughlin.  Interesting for the kid of a cop to end up with a cop.

Her next album was 2016's The Weight of These Wings, a double album featuring 24 songs and 1:34 playtime.  Which is too damn long.  However, I will say that I like the vibe of this album more than the last one.  Feels more down to earth and rootsy.  Quite a bit fewer streams though, so the rest of the world may not agree with my take!  The top track is from the second disc - "Tin Man" - and has 89 million streams.

Oh, she redid that one on the Marfa Tapes album.  I really liked that album.  Really a pretty song.  When she decides to go the ballad route, she can really crush a tune.  I say that I liked this one more, but I'm not sure that is true for the whole run of the album - definitely feels like I am listening to Nashville country on some of these songs.

Now, we get to the part of her career where I was actually paying attention.  2019's Wildcard got a lukewarmish reception from me, but better than I had expected:

"Miranda Lambert - Wildcard.  I talked about this album because it was in someone's top ten albums for 2019, and I surprisingly didn't hate it.  In fact, I kind of like it.  Angles more rock than country, except the lyrics are that kind of schlocky comedic shit that you get in country music some times, like an allegory of collecting all your problems and sticking them in the washing machine like they are stained clothes.  Or a song in which the protagonist declares herself too pretty for prison, despite her actions.  It's clever enough to make me grin.  And "Bluebird" and "How Dare You Love" are legitimately pretty.  The weirdest piece to me are the 80's synths and guitar on "Track Record," like she joined up with a Flock of Seagulls to make a country track.  "It All Comes Out in the Wash" wins the stream count for now at 15.6 million.

I mean, that is highly cheesy, full of tropes.  But its damn catchy!  I honestly don't know if I had ever listened to a Miranda Lambert song before now - I just had a general negative impression because she sings country and is a modern artist.  But I don't hate this.  I'm not about to toss out Taylor Swift and Kacey Musgraves in my pantheon of country lady songwriters or anything, but this has goodness in it."  

And by now, "Bluebird" crushes that other song on stream count, with 185.5 million streams.  So, we'll do that one as well.

Really is a nice song.  That cage is apparently in her bar/restaurant that she owns on the Broadway strip in Nashville.  We did that for a minute this summer for the first time (not her bar, but that general area), and it was sorta hell.  A louder and more desperate-feeling Sixth Street.

Next was the excellent 2021 album with some other guys on board.  "Jack Ingram, Miranda Lambert, Jon Randall - The Marfa Tapes.  Delightfully messy little batch of songs from these guys.  I don't listen to much Lambert, haven't heard from Ingram in years, and have never heard of Randall at all, but some of these songs are really great.  But they're deliberately raw - there are random background noises, and Lambert giggles in the midst of songs pretty frequently - and the recording sounds like it was done in a barn using an old jam box for the mic.  Which is kinda fun - feels like I'm listening in on these folks having an old time song swap.  Just one acoustic guitar, and some nice harmonies, lets you really listen to the lyrics.  The top track is the opener, "In His Arms."

I gotta say, watching that video made the song even better - beautiful.  Randomly just got emotional watching that.  What the hell.  But yeah, a lovely little song and sentiment.  I like it.  "Two Step Down to Texas" sounds very much like they brought in Kelly Willis to sing.  I really like Randall's sound - he reminds me of David Wilcox on How Did You Find Me Here (see "Breaking a Heart" or "Amazing Grace - West Texas").  "Geraldine" is weird, because it is a "Jolene" ripoff, but it goes so far as to name-check "Jolene," so it's a knowing ripoff, which seems off-putting to me.  But overall, this is a really fun album.  Makes me want to go to deep west Texas and play the three chords I can play over and over.

Looks like they made a movie to go with the album, here's the trailer:

"

And then after that one, you get the also good Palomino from 2022.  I keep saying the same thing in these reviews about how I don't listen to her, and then I go on to listen to her some more... 

"Miranda Lambert - Palomino.  My normal angle would definitely be that I don't listen to purely Nashville artists like Lambert.  But then I make exceptions for people like Stapleton and Simpson.  Now Lambert is making me think she belongs in that same list of exceptions.  I really enjoyed her scruffy last album with Jack Ingram and Jon Randall, so I figured I'd give this one a shot.  It is really enjoyable.  In part, that is because a lot of these songs are already in my head from the Marfa Tapes disc, but also because they are a good combination of country, rock, and solid songwriting.  And there are some curveballs on here - she's got the B-52's singing backup on one tune!  "Geraldine" makes me think of "Jolene."  "In His Arms" is lovely.  "Country Money" is funny.  "Waxahachie" is odd, because she asks the town if it is still on '35.  Like, are some towns known for picking themselves up and moving?  But it is a nice song - I dig the lyric of writing a lipstick letter while on a bourbon buzz.  But the top tune is "If I was a Cowboy," with a big lead over all other songs at 66.8 million streams. (now up to 103.2 million)

Kind of has a Kacey sound to it. Honestly, one of the weaker tunes on here in my opinion. I much prefer the rest of the disc. Not a bad song, just seems more like a contrived Nashville song working hard to make sure that she could sing about being the queen cowboy. But, I'll absolutely keep this disc around. I like it."

And finally in 2024 she released a new disc, on a new label, called Postcards from Texas.  I remember reading something about it being a "return to roots" and a love letter to Texas.  Ehh, not sure I completely agree there.  Some of the songs are very good, and she does mention the names of some Texas towns, but I wouldn't say that she's left the Nashville slickness entirely behind.  Album has been out since 9/13/24, and the stream count would lead me to believe that it has not been a hit just yet.  Top streamer is "Dammit Randy" with 4.4 million streams.  I love that song title.

Don't love it.  There are definitely better tracks on here, in part because of some of the trite ass lyrics about like "flying a kite in a hurricane."  C'mon.  Is that the best you have?  And nobody ties pennies to the tracks, they just set them down on there.  This disc is fine, but I definitely prefer the stripped down Marfa Tapes sound or the Palamino disc if I had to go with one of the newer ones.

It has been fun to run through all of this.  I'm definitely going to see Alan Jackson, but I like realizing that Lambert is legitimately enjoyable to listen to and not just Nashville pablum.