Friday, May 29, 2015

Whitey Morgan & The 78's "Sonic Ranch" Album Review


    While the heart of Texas and the hills of Tennessee have provided us with the majority of the great music you hear today, an unlikely location is the birthplace of one of the best artists in the biz right now. Whitey Morgan is a modern-day outlaw whose music’s attitude ranks right up there with the best of them, and he hails from Michigan. Don’t let that throw you. Whitey Morgan and the 78’s newest album, Sonic Ranch, is a honky-tonk masterpiece that feels like it comes straight from the Lone Star State. In fact, Sonic Ranch is easily one of the best albums of 2015.

Thursday, May 21, 2015

Luke Bryan "Kick The Dust Up" Single Review


      The past few months have seen a significant downturn in the amount of bro-country being thrown mercilessly at our tender eardrums. With the exception of the clueless Florida-Georgia Line, most artists have learned that the public has grown tired of the party that never ends from artists who never grow up. Apparently, Luke Bryan missed the memo. After announcing his latest Spring Break EP would be is last, there were thoughts that maybe he was finally going to attempt to put out some songs of substance as he did on his first two albums. We were wrong. Luke’s new single is an uninspired, unoriginal, and unbalanced mess that further pushes the genre towards irrelevancy. 

Thursday, May 7, 2015

Chris Stapleton "Traveller" Album Review


     If you have listened to the radio in the past 5 years, you know Chris Stapleton. While writing songs for Kenny Chesney, Darius Rucker, Luke Bryan, Thomas Rhett, and many others, he has established himself as one of the top men in the songwriting business. He has had numerous number ones, writing some of the better songs on the radio. He was also previously in the band The Steeldrivers, making sweet, sweet bluegrass music. Now, Chris is on his own. He has released his debut album Traveller to great amounts of hype and fanfare. In this case, we actually have an album that lives up to the hype. Traveller is easily one of the best albums of the year.

Zac Brown Band "Jekyll & Hyde" Album Review


     One of the best and most consistent bands of the past decade has been the Zac Brown Band. Even though they do not claim to be exclusively a country band, they have released some of the best country music in the mainstream world. Zac was a chubby, bearded everyman with a beanie and a Carhartt. He looked the part and sang the part. Country fans tired of the glitz and glam were attracted to the understated demeanor and average Joe appeal of the Zac Brown Band. Their latest release, Jekyll & Hyde, promised some new horizons for the group. Little did fans know that they were getting disjointed and misguided mess that would alienate a large portion of their fan base.

Friday, May 1, 2015

Zane Williams "Texas Like That" Album Review


   While Nashville continues to produce mediocrity and bland artists, Texas continues to pump out quality music by real artists. Recent releases by Robert Earl Keen, Aaron Watson, Randy Rogers, and Wade Bowen have given us some of the best music of the year. Now, we can add Zane Williams to that list. With his newest release, Texas Like That, Zane Williams joins an already crowded field of top albums in 2015. Zane has an approach that is a great bridge between modern country music and the great music of the past.