I don't know how many of you are into schmalzy pop-ass pop country, but Scotty McCreery's album, in my opinion, is a good example of it done right.
For some reason I never listened to Natalie Hemby's record from last year, but I checked it out recently since she helped write some of Ruston Kelly's new album, and damn. Really loving it.
Definitely some good stuff of that record. One of my favorites of the past few years. Whenever her name shows up as a co-write, I know the song will be good.
Ruston Kelly's Halloween is on constant rotation. Perfect for late night drives. And man, those Travis Meadows lyrics sink really deep. Fantastic songwriter.
New Lori McKenna album streaming on NPR. First Listen: Lori McKenna, 'The Tree' I LOVE this album. Her last one was top five for me in 2016, but I think this is a pretty sizable step up.
And I loved that album! But there are three songs on here that I'd put above anything on there, with the possible exception of "Giving up on Your Hometown."
Eric Church keeps on preaching good music. New album "Desperate Man" out October 5th. Here's the first single and title track. A mix of Rolling Stones and Creedence Clearwater Revival.
Listened to this today for the first time. Legitimately brought me to tears. I was sitting in a lawn chair in my back yard with tears streaming down my face a couple songs in.
Yeah, that's more or less what I wrote in my review: Lori McKenna - The Tree • chorus.fm The first time I listened to this record and really focused on the lyrics was on a six and a half mile run. I was gasping for breath by the end of "The Fixer" because I was running and crying. Haha
I don't know how I missed this review. Excellent write up of a fantastic album. Between being a fan of your writing and how much my taste in music has seemed to align with yours lately, I'm usually better at checking the main page for your reviews. I will certainly be going back and checking out some of her other work. I've been reading up on her and discovered shes written a lot of great songs for other artists. Also, it was neat to find out she lives right near me in MA.
Yeah, if you haven't heard The Bird and the Rifle, I'd go there next. I think this album is her best, but that one is pretty close to perfect too. The previous album, Numbered Doors, is incredible too. And yes, she's a pretty in-demand writer. She wrote two of the biggest country songs of the past few years ("Girl Crush" for Little Big Town and "Humble and Kind" for Tim McGraw), and co-wrote "Delicate" with Taylor Swift.
As it stands now it looks like the fiancé and I are rolling with Yours by Russell Dickerson for our first dance song Also subbin
Not ready to call The Tree better than Bird & Rifle, but man this album is great. Got my wife into Lori McKenna as well. Her writing is infectious.
Just checked out Lori McKenna for the first time and was blown away. The first three songs on this album is one of the strongest starts to an album I’ve heard in a while. I’m embarrassed to say I think I’ve always ignored her bc of some of the bands/artists she has written for, which I’m realizing now was dumb. She actually is a lot closer to someone like Mary Gauthier rather than some of the pop country acts I had her tied to in my head. Oh and good call on The Fixer, it reminded me of the first time I heard Jason Isbell’s Elephant.
Oh man, if I'd known you hadn't listened to her I would have pushed The Bird and the Rifle on you years ago! Yeah, she's totally up your alley, even if she's known for writing for/with some of the bigger pop country acts. Agreed on the "Fixer"/"Elephant" comparison. That's the thing I thought of right away.