Jamey Johnson’s string of aughts and early-2010s albums remain some of country music’s most beloved releases. On those records, the Alabama-born singer-songwriter captivated fans with his once-in-a-generation voice and masterful storytelling, influencing stars like Chris Stapleton and Miranda Lambert. This first release from Johnson in over a decade finds him still in fighting shape, his voice as rich as ever and his perspective as charmingly cranky, too. Opening track “Bad Guy” is a slinky slow burn that lets Johnson stretch his legs, drawing out notes and taking his time over a loping beat. He lies back and takes it easy on the title track, which sounds influenced by Willie Nelson and Jimmy Buffett in equal measure. Randy Houser joins Johnson on two tracks: the big and brassy “Trudy” and the last-call ballad “I’m Tired of It All.” Johnson recorded *Midnight Gasoline* at John Carter Cash’s Cash Cabin studio, once owned by Cash’s parents Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash. Johnson recorded other albums there too, which are slated for a future Cash Cabin series.
California singer-songwriter Jensen McRae’s cut an impressive figure over the last few years, from her striking breakout single “Wolves” and her debut LP *Are You Happy Now?* to a profile-raising stint opening for Noah Kahan on 2024’s Stick Season tour. Her sophomore bow *I Don’t Know How But They Found Me!* finds the 27-year-old taking her confessional folk-rock style—equally influenced by Tracy Chapman’s raw lyrical expressionism and Taylor Swift’s melodic grandeur—and blowing it up on the widest screen possible. Over bell-clear production courtesy of studio wiz Brad Cook (Bon Iver, Waxahatchee), McRae’s songwriting breathes like never before, from the countrified and Phoebe Bridgers-esque “Savannah” to the closely-mic’d piano ballad “Tuesday,” which features McRae leaning into her sturdy lower vocal register and spinning the type of quietly devastating lyrical gestures she’s become renowned for: “If you spent a day in my shoes/You’d know how it feels to be used.”
On Jeremy Zucker and Chelsea Cutler’s third collaborative project, they expand their ambitious scope, building out the collection as a full-length album as opposed to the EP lengths of the first two iterations. The meeting between these two solo artists is one of the most impressive connections in pop and folk music. On *brent iii*, their chemistry is on full display, again turning in an album of rich instrumental arrangements and harmonies. Take “i miss you,” an acoustic lament that looks back longingly on the good old days of a relationship. The duo worry that they’ve become faces in the crowd, diminished from their once proud place as loving partners to the subject of the song. They sing: “’Cause I miss you/Is this exactly what you thought we\'d become?/Do you see me how you see everyone?/’Cause I need you.” Few make heartbreak sound as sweet as Jeremy Zucker and Chelsea Cutler.
