Any time you take on the task of distilling a year’s worth of albums into a list of the “best” of the bunch, you will have to make difficult decisions and leave out worthy works. On that note, please be sure to go back and check out past editions of this column, wherein we survey the finest country and country-ish – folk, bluegrass, Americana, roots-rock, Western swing, acoustic exploration, old-time music, and so on – Bandcamp has to offer each month. But first, here are 13 albums that rose to the top over the past year. Please give ‘em a spin, support the artists as you see fit, and enjoy! See you in January!
Margo Cilker
Valley Of Heart’s Delight
Vinyl LP, Compact Disc (CD)
Like a lot of great songwriters, Margo Cilker seems to possess a restless soul. Or perhaps she just writes songs about restless souls, not to mention unsettled hearts, modern-day nomads, the lost, the found, and all those folks in between. Cilker is from California and currently lives in a tiny town in Eastern Washington, but her music – rollicking folk-rock, easygoing country, archetypal Americana – feels like it has one foot firmly planted in the prairie and one eye on the horizon, looking for the next stop on the journey. Currently, you’ll find her in the Valley of Heart’s Delight, but it’s worth following her wherever she goes.
Drayton Farley
Twenty on High
As a genre, “Americana” is impossible to truly define. After all, you could use the word to describe the decor in my mother-in-law’s house, and there is a food truck in my town with that name. But in musical terms, you know Americana when you hear it. Twenty on High is the style at its finest: Sharply written, story-driven, emotionally resonant, a hybrid of country and electrified rock ‘n’ roll. At the center is Alabaman Drayton Farley, a super-skilled singer and songwriter who reflects everything good about this nebulous corner of the musical universe.
Dom Flemons
Traveling Wildfire
Compact Disc (CD), 2 x Vinyl LP
Since he co-founded the influential old-time string band The Carolina Chocolate Drops in the mid-2000s, Dom Flemons has acted almost as a concierge of sorts, guiding listeners through the history of country, blues, folk, bluegrass, cowboy songs, and more, often highlighting Black contributions to this rich timeline. Traveling Wildfire finds the Chicago-based artist refocused on his own tunes, sprinkling a number of originals among new takes on traditional songs that illuminate the intersection of spirituality, societal movements, personal reflection, and the broader Black experience. The man is a treasure; long may he travel.
Robbie Fulks
Bluegrass Vacation
Vinyl LP, Compact Disc (CD)
Robbie Fulks is a roots-music polymath with a catalog full of twists and turns: A major label rock album. A pitch-perfect countrypolitan record. A collection of Michael Jackson covers. This brilliant tribute to Fountains of Wayne. And in 2023, the veteran Chicago singer-songwriter released his first bluegrass-focused album, with help from genre giants like Sam Bush, Sierra Hull, Tim O’Brien, Alison Brown, and Jerry Douglas. Together, they build beautiful string-band arrangements around Fulks’ songs, which have been consistently world-class in a variety of styles for more than three decades.
Rob Ickes & Trey Hensley
Living In A Song
Vinyl LP, Compact Disc (CD)
It is impossible to talk about Rob Ickes and Trey Hensley without mentioning their brilliance as instrumentalists: The latter is a world-class guitarist, and the former is arguably the greatest Dobro player alive. On Living In a Song, their fourth album together, it’s clear their singing and songwriting is catching up to their picking prowess. While bluegrass echoes through these 12 songs, Ickes and Hensley lean harder into the sounds of ‘60s, ‘70s, ‘80s, and ‘90s country, with a special focus on warm, well-known arrangements and memorable melodies. Great tunes, expertly played; these two offer the best of both worlds.
Theo Lawrence
Chérie
Vinyl LP, Compact Disc (CD)
Bordeaux, France is a long way from Nashville, Tennessee, but that hasn’t stopped Theo Lawrence from fully absorbing the sound and aesthetic of classic country music. Rockin’ a sky-high pompadour and a voice that recalls pioneering crooner Marty Robbins, Lawrence mixes throwback twang, rockabilly, and soulful ‘60s pop into a timelessly likable sound. In a just world, this guy would be as big as like-minded American Charley Crockett. Vive la musique country Française!
Roberta Lea
Too Much of a Woman
Compact Disc (CD), T-Shirt/Shirt
Virginia singer/songwriter (and Black Opry Revue member) Robert Lea quit her day job to pursue a career in music, and Too Much of a Woman is evidence she made the right choice. Across its 11 tracks, Lea explores several different sides of country music, including emo-ish Americana (“Something in the Tide”), slinky country-soul (“Midnight Matinee”), banjo-forward Americana (“Small Town Boy”) and a party-friendly country-pop jam (“Girl Trip”) that deserves to play after every bro-country tight-jeans-cold-beer-and-a-pickup-truck hit on the radio. Black women are hard at work changing the face of folk and country music, and they’ll only benefit from having Lea focused on the effort full-time.
Bob Lefevre & the Already Gone
Two
Vinyl LP, Compact Disc (CD)
Here’s an example of the power of word of mouth: A guy named Jason in Wyoming occasionally emails me music to consider for this column. Without Jason, I don’t know if I would’ve come across Bob Lefevre & the Already Gone. I’m glad I did, though; Two is as good a roots-rock record – emphasis on the rock – as anyone released this year. Lefevre and his band crank up the guitars, put the pedal to the metal, and don’t skimp on the melody as they tear through ten tracks of delicious Slobberbone-style crunch that would sound great in any dive bar in America. Thanks, Jason, for reaching out, and thanks, Bob, for rockin’.
Brennen Leigh
Ain’t Through Honky Tonkin’ Yet
Vinyl LP, Compact Disc (CD)
Chameleonic Nashville-ian Brennen Leigh landed in this column back in 2022 on the strength of her album Obsessed With the West, an exercise in genuine Western swing. Now, she’s back with a straight country album, where the fiddles and pedal steel guitars are cranked up to 11, and clever turns of phrase (“Somebody’s Drinking About You”) fly in every direction. As she always does, Leigh slips into honky tonk mode with incredible ease, and with guest spots from lifers like Marty Stuart and Rodney Crowell, turns out one of the best country albums of the year.
The Pink Stones
You Know Who
Vinyl LP, Compact Disc (CD)
The cover of The Pink Stones’ You Know Who looks straight out of the 1970s, from the R. Crumb-style lettering to the photo of the band itself – all denim and big hair and whatnot. The Athens, Georgia band sound follows suit, using an army of nifty noisemakers to produce a slick little world of country music gone funk, soul, pop, blues, and beyond. This ensemble could sit comfortably alongside giants of the genre, such as George Jones, The Byrds, and J.J. Cale. Good news: They’re already dressed for it!
Nick Shoulders
All Bad
Vinyl LP, Compact Disc (CD), T-Shirt/Shirt, , Cassette
Nick Shoulders gets a lot of attention for his yodeling and whistling, and yes, his 2023 album does, in fact, feature both of those things. But what makes All Bad so irresistible is the unabashed glee with which he takes on bygone musical styles—pre-war country blues, Western swing, early rockabilly, and Cajun waltzes—and the high quality of his results. Shoulders sounds like someone unearthed a jukebox from an early 20th-century honky tonk and fed it full of quarters. In a world spilling over with Americana soundalikes, his quirky approach is both unique and very welcome.
Kassi Valazza
Kassi Valazza Knows Nothing
Vinyl LP, Compact Disc (CD), Vinyl
Kassi Valazza has lived in Portland for a long time, but her gorgeous folk songs bring to mind the endless horizons and starlit skies of her native Arizona. Part of this feeling is because of Valazza’s songs – patient folk ballads about truck stops, canyon walls, lonely feelings, and dying fires – and a big part of it is her voice, a crystal clear and self-assured alto that recalls the underground folk legend Sandy Denny. In other words, she’s the perfect tour guide for a bewitching trip through the desertscapes of the American West.
Bella White
Among Other Things
Vinyl LP, Compact Disc (CD)
Between the string-band influence on her songs, the authentic twang in her voice and the distinctive hiccups in her vocal delivery, you’d be forgiven for thinking Bella White is from the heart of Appalachia. In fact, she’s from Calgary and based in British Columbia; her father, however, is a bluegrass picker and a Virginia native. You can hear Dad’s roots coming through all over Among Other Things, a 10-track collection of gauzy country-folk songs that are melodically beguiling, steeped in emotion, and delivered by twentysomething blessed with an old, old soul.
