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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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
