Here is some new stuff I liked this week.
Albums
Ken Pomeroy - Cruel Joke
I always liked my favorite band’s favorite band, and several Tulsa-based musicians and underground folk-country players who I respect mentioned loving Pomeroy’s album, so I sat down with Cruel Joke with great expectations. The lyrics and melodies complement each other, seamlessly blending feelings and sounds. After several listens, I still feel like I need to better understand the music and the stories behind the songs. This one deserves a careful and undistracted listen — a quiet nighttime drive, a backyard evening with a drink or a walk alone will do these songs a lot of good.
Silverada - Texas 42
The stripped-down Silverada gives us a taste of how the bigger, more complex era of this great band makes perfect sense within its bar-band past (and future).
Singles
Tami Neilson, Ashley McBryde, Grace Bowers, Shelly Fairchild - “Borrow My Boots”
I like this song as much for the song as I do for the story of how it came together. In short, McBryde heard Neilson sing at the Opry’s celebration of Patsy Cline and reached out to say she liked her music — in Neilson’s words, McBryde “had dug into my catalogue of music and wrote me to lift me up and encourage me, saying she was a fan.” As you’ll read in the rest of that post, one thing led to another, and now we have this banging song with a range of massive voices — all lifting each other up.
Bliss Bowen and Ted Russell Kamp - “A Whole Lot of You and Me”
This is the one song that caught me this week. I had stopped what I was doing to look at the credits and listen closely. “A Whole Lot of You and Me” didn’t take a second listen; it was a first ballot recommendation. Also, Ted's baseline is sick.
Tommy Goodroad - “Long Long Time to Get Old/Oui (A French Song)”
Smart songwriting and good music.
Caeron Smith and the Slings with Presley Haile - “The Way Life Ought to Be”
This is a beautiful song, and the additional sonic elements throughout make it stand out in the flood of recently released independent country (and country adjacent) music.
Jeremy Pinnell - “Save You”
A wonderful evolution of Pinnell’s sound, “Save You” shines light into the darkness that shrouds those struggling with addiction. As a huge Pinnell fan, I’m excited to see him release new music that continues to push people to look at the hardships faced by everyday folks. Also, this music video featuring Rod Gator is great.
