Adeem the Artist digs deeper into their roots on *Anniversary*, the follow-up to the singer-songwriter’s critically acclaimed 2022 record *White Trash Revelry*. A native of the lower Piedmont region in the American southeast, Adeem builds upon the country-inflected folk of past releases to include the blues music that makes up their heritage, finding musical and thematic connections along the way. “Socialite Blues” pairs the Piedmont blues sound with a modern narrative, with an especially charismatic vocal from Adeem. “Rotations” is a clever and heartfelt spin on parenthood, with a gentle arrangement that suits the song’s tender message. And “One Night Stand” makes the case that Adeem could just as easily be a pop country hitmaker, using a big, hooky chorus to center a queer narrative. Adeem recorded the LP with producer Butch Walker in Nashville, setting up for a few days at renowned local studio The Butcher Shoppe. Players on *Anniversary* include Ellen Angelico, Aaron Lee Tasjan, and Megan Coleman, and the record boasts Adeem’s most expansive sound yet, complete with a horn section.
Titling an album *The Heartbroken Record* is a bold move, setting up listener expectations before the first song even starts. But Lauren Watkins is an assured artist, and this full-length debut from the Nashville native is anything but cautious. Watkins tapped Music Row favorite Joey Moi (ERNEST, MacKenzie Porter) to produce the record, which she released through a partnership between Big Loud Records and Songs & Daughters, the latter a project launched by songwriter Nicolle Galyon to highlight women artists in country. *The Heartbroken Record* opens with “Leavers Leave,” on which it’s Watkins herself fleeing the scene in search of “another smoky bar” and a “lost highway.” “Gatlinburg” is a sweet and clear-eyed ode to the East Tennessee tourist mecca, which Watkins dubs a “poor man’s paradise.” And “Too Much to Dream,” which closes the project, cleverly plays on the idea of a hangover, though instead of too much booze, it’s “too much to think, too much to sleep.” Guests on the album include Sheryl Crow and Ashley Monroe.
Orville Peck rounds up more than a few of his most talented friends on *Stampede*, a collaborative collection with one hell of a guest list. The enigmatic, masked country singer opens the record with a Willie Nelson-assisted cover of Ned Sublette’s clever, queer 1981 song “Cowboys Are Frequently Secretly Fond of Each Other,” which Nelson famously recorded in 2006. Elton John joins Peck for a spirited take on the former’s 1973 hit “Saturday Night’s Alright (For Fighting),” with Peck’s Roy Orbison-esque croon a dramatic counterpoint to John’s masterful belt. Peck and Allison Russell make formidable partners on “Chemical Sunset,” with a loose, jazzy arrangement that’s one of the project’s better grooves. Bluegrass virtuoso Molly Tuttle and her band Golden Highway get things loose and rootsy on “Papa Was a Rodeo,” a cover of the winking Magnetic Fields song off the band’s seminal *69 Love Songs*. Margo Price assists Peck on the impeccably titled “You’re an Asshole, I Can’t Stand You (And I Want a Divorce),” an original song that manages to be both funny and wrenching. And Peck closes the project with an extra-special cover of Glen Campbell’s “Rhinestone Cowboy,” performing the song with three other out, gay country artists: TJ Osborne, Fancy Hagood, and Waylon Payne.
