Two albums stopped me cold in my tracks over the past few weeks. One has garnered a dizzying number of column inches and breathless hot takes, while the other may have slipped by in the tidal wave of new music in recent weeks.

Snipe Hunter is fascinating. While not purely a country music album, Childers’ album may be the most anticipated and reviewed country music release of the year. And while it’s too early to say, it has to be on the short list for Album of the Year.

Some of the critiques of the recording are well-founded, especially if you’re of the mind that an artist should be in the preservation of a sound business. I do not subscribe to that school of thought; rather, I feel an artist should deliver what they want to deliver. Labels — or genres — often get in the way of expression.

So Childers did what he wanted to do and gave us a confounding and beautiful record that is well worth a second or third listen. But you’re likely already doing that.

Another record that also deserves multiple careful listens is Silas Lowe’s Mirror Behind the Bar. Without any filler, this incredible collection of stories put to music allows the listener to enter the lives of the people Lowe develops. Every time I listen, I have a new favorite song, but “Walls And Fences” and “Hole in the Wall” are often at the top of the list.

The use of simple things and places in these stories exposes the wild complexities of human interaction at every level.

In four lines, he’s painted the picture. The rest of this song is perfect, developing an image that captures everything like a faded photo. It’s all there, but the colors blend because that is how we need to remember that truth — it’s all that you need.

In “Walls And Fences” Lowe sings:

This album could be categorized as Americana, singer-songwriter music or country, but these titles don’t do the album any good. It stands all by itself, and it's a record you should listen to again. Without labels.

And as much as the Childers’ album hits you with overwhelming, impossible-to-ignore intensity, Lowe does the opposite, utilizing a straightforward and simple production to the same effect. These albums are incredible products by craftsmen and artists at the top of their game.

The perfect country song for the alt-rock adult who might not be ready to admit they like country music. Supported by smart turns of phrase and just enough hipster smug attitude to make it enjoyable, not annoying, this song digs into the monotony of life and looks hard to find the good. It’s saccharine, not annoying.

A bluesy, gospel-inspired banger about dying alone. Yeah, we need this song. In a similar manner to “Sorrow Brings Me Joy,” this song touches on painful truth in a beautiful and meaningful way, slowing you down just enough to think about it, but not so much that you miss the great song that delivers this message of despair.

Look, we get older. We learn more. Some of us are still very cool, while others are still square. And while we all get older and learn more, not everyone can take what we learn and create something beautiful from this reality. It’s refreshing and extremely interesting to see a badass, like Cody Jinks, explore this universal theme with such humility, honesty and clarity.

I’m a sucker for a song about a dive bar.

Country music’s Lil Wayne is back at it with a familiar song — referencing several styles and periods — that also feels incredibly new and innovative. Lane elevates the recording with complementary and leading melodies that find themselves cemented in your brain. This is a great version of Brent Maher and Randy Goodrum’s song, one that has been performed by several incredible artists in the past, including Jo Dee Messina and Dottie West. With Summer Dean’s last single and this great addition to the music book, the women of country music may be pushing into a 1970s pop revival.

It takes a lot of guts to cover this song — it’s hard to beat Conway Twitty and Loretta Lynn. And while I’m not sure they overtake this dynamic and hilarious duo, Hogslop and Kelly do something better: they made the song their own. The deeply swampy vibes of this band and the crystal-Lynn-like vocals of Kelly are a lovely addition to the history of this song.

Casual Drifters latest seems like a love child of Bob Dylan and Graham Parsons if they had an affair in early 1990s Seattle. Complete with a list of several cities and highways as well as allusions to songs that do the same, this single does more than just provide a great beat for a honky tonk dance.