Honestly, I’m very much looking forward to Vol. 53.1 In other news, the Dodgers and Blue Jays played 18 innings last night, and I watched most of them…this fact may also be influencing my perspective.

Here are the tunes

This EP is built for a melancholy drive during golden hour. It’s enough to make you nod along, think about the lyrics and wonder about the characters, but not so much that it pushes you to think about yourself (immediately). More Easy seamlessly blends simple elements of classic 1950s country with modern life. It’s a lovely, intentional collection of songs that make up a complete EP, which is nice in the age of waterfall distribution.

When you look at Hedley’s discography, you get a snapshot of critical focus points throughout country music history. And this could be kind of tacky if it wasn’t so expertly executed. Hedley’s love of country music comes through on all his albums, and the only thing that connects these works is his skill as a performer, songwriter and lover of music. The scholarship needed to pull these projects off is beyond impressive. Joshua Hedley is the only person in our community who can approach creating music this way, and we are lucky to have him here. Also, there are polkas on this album, and those are on the dance floor.

Friend of the newsletter and mine, Rah Rah Rabbit, sent me the link to this new project, and it’s the most lovely example of Los Angeles roots music I’ve heard in a long time. No skips and widely diverse, the Tiny Tape Mix Tape gives listeners a snapshot of LA-music scene and the vibrant art it creates.

I’ll be honest: Tod scares me a bit. And I find some of his writing to be a bit much. Which is not to say I don’t like his heavy and dark music. It’s just a lot, sometimes. However, the self-awareness of this song, coupled with its slightly easier-going vibe, makes me like him a lot more.

This song cuts deep for anyone who grew up, or for someone helping a young person grow up. Written by committee, this song puts to words the gut-wrenching feelings of inadequacy that every teen feels and every parent knows their child feels — and knows they can do nothing about. Worth noting, everyone involved, from writers to producers, is a woman.

Hamilton’s haunting voice and razor-sharp lyrics force a listener to explore one of those painful experiences Moroney outlines. I love it when songs that have nothing to do with each other play off one another to tell a bigger story. I guess it comes from my fascination with the radio.

Greenbloom has been pushing out a bunch of these covers lately, and this one is by far the best. It had me wondering why more folks haven’t taken a look into this period of moody rock music for modern-day country covers. The guitar lick opening does a lot for me — it’s like a time warp to lunch time show from the early 90s on KROQ in LA, where they’d play a lot of these tunes. Nostalgia is one hell of a drug.