Here’s some the best Americana and roots-type music releases for August 30th, 2024. Click the artist or album links to find out more. The artist’s names link to their websites and the CD title links go to either Amazon, iTunes, Bandcamp or the artist’s site for ordering or downloading. A + sign means although not a featured release, it’s a notable album that’s still worth checking out. Also, this page will be updated as I find out about other new releases so check back again.
Caleb Caudle
Sweet Critters (Missing Piece Records)
The American South is often referenced for its sweetness: its teas, cobblers, soul music, and the like. Caleb Caudle sings and writes like a Southerner. The title of his sixth release, Sweet Critters, suggests its rural authenticity, hokum, and sugariness. Who says “critters” these days? The North Carolina native affects a deep drawl, a slow cadence, and a head full of tropes that peg him in the tradition of classic country music from the Appalachian part of the country. He’s got a soft spot for the natural beauty of its woodlands and the memories (real and invented) of the people who live there, and that’s just part of the picture. Working within genre limitations (i.e., Southern culture) encourages Caudle to reference past traditions and show their present currency. For example, the “Sweet Critters” of the title song are not live animals. They are “brass figurines” meant for display whose existence evokes Tennessee Williams’ Glass Menagerie. Caudle doesn’t romanticize as much as present the reality, whether describing an authentic small-town rock club or imaginary “Rivers of Fire” that separate us. The actual and the factual aren’t always the same thing! People’s feelings can be as real as a fiddlehead fern or a “Hollywood Ending”. The power of Caudle’s songwriting is that he convinces us of this just by telling us the story. (edited from Pop Matters review)
Also new this week…
Ray Benson – Swingin’ and Skankin’ (Tafari Records)
The Boxmasters – Love & Hate In Desperate Places (KeenTone Records)
The Cactus Blossoms – Every Time I Think About You (Walkie Talkie Records) +
Shemekia Copeland – Blame It On Eve (Alligator Records) +
Rockin’ Dopsie, Jr and the Zydeco Twisters – More Fun (ATO Records)
The Grass Daddies – Missin’ That Drawl (Prairie Grass Records)
Hannah Juanita – Tennessee Songbird (self-released)
Charlie Peacock – Every Kind of Uh-Oh (It’s Time To Art) +
Amy Rigby – Hang in There with Me (Tapete Records)
The Steep Canyon Rangers – Live at Greenfield Lake (Yep Roc Records)
Strung Like a Horse – Dirt (Transoceanic Records)
Sunny Sweeney – Still Provoked (Aunt Daddy Records) +
Coming out soon … The Heavy Heavy, The Deslondes, Shovels & Rope, Jerry Douglas, Mac Leaphart, JP Harris, Lisa Morales, Randall Bramblett, Eliza Thorn, Amy Helm, Billy Strings, Donavon Frankenreiter, Amythyst Kiah, Nick Lowe and more!
