Here’s some the best Americana and roots-type music releases for July 19th, 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.
Melissa Carper
Borned In Ya (Mae Music)
She may have borrowed the album title, Borned in Ya, from an old interview with Ralph Stanley, but it couldn’t be better suited to anyone than Melissa Carper. Quite literally, she’s got the bona fides. Carper was raised on the classics — Hank Williams, Patsy Cline, Ray Charles — and grew up playing in her family’s country band. She’s earned the admiration of session masters like Chris Scruggs and Wonder Women of Country collaborator Brennen Leigh. Carper’s fifth full-length album, Borned in Ya features her signature cocktail of jazz, blues, and twang, a sound Carper can make feel brand new even as her singular warble harkens back to generations past. Carper sounds so natural in each sonic corner of Borned in Ya that trying to assign it a genre is a fool’s errand. Like the greats that she absorbed as a youngster and channels here, there’s a little of everything in the special sauce she’s making with her music, each component complementing the rest. (edited from No Depression review)
AJ Lee & Blue Summit
City of Glass (Signature Sounds)
At 26, the prodigy phase of AJ Lee’s music career has passed. It might take a little more time for the tendency to confuse her with a professional wrestler using the same name to fade away. Rounding out Santa Cruz, California-based Blue Summit are fiddler Jan Purat and guitarist Sullivan Tuttle, one of the children of educator-musician Jack Tuttle and brother of breakout star Molly Tuttle. Lee also got her start with The Tuttles with AJ Lee. A keen sense of humor dots City of Glass, which was produced by Lech Wierzynski of “retro-soul” band The California Honeydrops. For this third album, we’re confident doing bluegrass, roots, and country, sticking with more stringed instruments, but also branching out. With Lech’s involvement, we’re leaning a little bit towards soul, R&B, and keeping it interesting, but still showcasing ourselves and what we like to play and what we like to do. (edited from The Bluegrass Situation review)
Also new this week…
Beware Wolves – Beware Wolves, Vol. 4 (Aqualamb Records)
Boy Golden – For Eden (Six Shooter Records) +
Kiely Connell – My Own Company (Calumet Queen Records) +
Dr. John – Frankie & Johnny (Sundazed Music)
Elijah Ocean – Loser’s Holiday (independent) +
Chris Robeson – Euphoriphobia (independent)
Coming out soon … Charley Crockett, Joe Ely, Norman Blake, The Cactus Blossoms, The Red Clay Strays, Caleb Caudle, American Aquarium, Yarn, The Deslondes, 49 Winchester, Pony Bradshaw, Amanda Anne Platt & The Honeycutters, Shemekia Copeland, Shelby Lynne, Gillian Welch & David Rawlings, Jerry Douglas, Bella White, The Boxmasters, JP Harris and more!
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