This has been a strange year to release a new record in, but that hasn’t stopped folks from releasing some great albums. Here is a list of my Top 20 Albums of 2020 So Far. I know I could have included more artists here, but I am working on a Top 50 list that will be published at the end of the year. I have included links to previous coverage of albums when we have it. Check these records out and support these bands while they cannot tour for their new records by buying merch or tipping during a livestream.
1. Kyle Nix – Lightning On The Mountain And Other Short Stories
NewsComments Off on 10 More Albums We Are Looking Forward To In 2020
Feb202020
By Joshua Wallace
When I previously released a list called “10 Albums We Are Looking Forward To In 2020”, that list contained albums where we knew the release date and all of the details. Well, here’s a list of 10 more albums we are pretty sure are coming out in 2020 that we are looking forward to. Some of these albums have release dates and some of them just have a very early pre-release single and nothing else. Keep an eye out here for more on these albums as info comes available.
American Aquarium – Lamentations – May 01st
American Aquarium is gearing up to release their new album Lamentations. This record was recorded late last year with Shooter Jennings producing. The band just announced a release date of May 1st and the first leg of the album’s tour. Look for new music soon.
Randall King – TBA – TBA
There isn’t much to go on for Randall King’s first album from major label Warner Music Nashville. He’s released 4 singles since signing with them including a Christmas tune. While the Christmas tune might not make an album, the trio of other singles probably will. Keep your eyes out for more info coming soon. Check out his latest song titled “Hey Cowgirl”.
Zach Bryan – TBA – TBA
Zach Bryan has stated that new music is on the way. While this independent artist tends to release things on his own time, he has recently entered the recording studio with famous producer Dave Cobb. This is purely speculation here, but we hope to hear something out of that recording session sometime down the line in 2020. In the meantime, check out his newest self released song, “Rest, Rose”.
Logan Ledger – Logan Ledger – April 3rd
Logan Ledger has had a rough time getting his self titled debut LP out, but it is finally coming to us on April 3rd. We have been big fans of the songs that have slowly trickled out over the past year and I can’t wait to hear the whole thing. With five tracks already available, this one is an early album of the year candidate. We recommend checking out “Imagining Raindrops”.
Porter Union – Loved & Lost – March 6th
We were big fans of Porter Union’s 2017 debut LP. That album did well on our year end Top 50 lists that year. Their new record is called Loved and Lost and is looking to be just as good. They already have a single out called “I’ve Got You Covered” that you can check out now. Look for this one in March.
Pat Reedy & The Longtime Goners – Make It Back Home – Summer
Pat Reedy is gearing up to release the follow up to his 2018 Muddy Roots Records release titled That’s All There Is (And There Ain’t No More). This record will be called Make It Back Home and out sometime this summer. If the first single and title track is any indication, this new record is picking up where the last one left off and will be one to look forward to in 2020.
Corb Lund – Agricultural Tragic – April 24th
Corb Lund is back in the saddle with a new release titled Agricultural Tragic. There is already a new song out called “90 Seconds Of Your Time” which I highly recommend checking out. This one is due out in April.
Craig Gerdes – Tough As Nails – Mid March
Craig Gerdes is releasing his second album in mid March titled Tough As Nails. We were big fans of his first release Smokin’ Drinkin’ and Gamblin’ and if the single “Between The Cradle and The Grave” is any indication, this one will be a rocking good time as well.
Bob Wayne – Rogue – Unknown
Bob Wayne has announced a new record called Rogue. There is no current release date though he is taking pre-orders. This record will be his first all acoustic album and he is pairing it with a huge tour that looks to break the world record for most shows in a tour cycle.
Jon Stickley Trio – Scripting The Flip – April 3rd
If you have never heard Jon Stickley Trio, I highly recommend checking out their music. They have a new record titled Scripting The Flip coming out in April and it’s going to be a good one. They are an instrumental group that pairs bluegrass with jazz, folk punk and other genres of music. The group consists of Jon Stickley who is an amazing flat picking guitar player, Lyndsay Pruett on fiddle and Hunter Deacon on drums. This record has 3 pre-release singles out and I recommend checking out “Don’t Slip”.
NewsComments Off on Album Feature – Zach Bryan – DeAnn
Sep062019
By Joshua Wallace
I discover new artists in a lot of different ways these days. I first discovered Zach Bryan from a tweet from Parker McCollum. It read : “Sitting at a bar in Nashville with my agent telling him about this Zach Bryan kid…. “fucking sign him… just trust me””. That was a ringing endorsement if I ever saw one. So I looked him up. I didn’t find much. No website, no promotional Facebook page. Just a personal Facebook, a Twitter account and some YouTube performance videos. Then I found this album DeAnn. It just came out on August 24th, 2019 but the numbers on Spotify are what got me. His songs are climbing to over 100k listeners fast and as of this writing he’s got 41,759 monthly listeners. That is impressive for a Spotify account that didn’t even have music 2 weeks ago. So what is it about this album that is drawing people in? Let’s take a deeper dive and find out.
The first highlight of this album is “God Speed”. It’s a song looking inward at Zach’s wants and needs from love, life and everything between. It’s a great song that sends the message that no matter what you want in life, you’re moving at God’s speed and “Only God and my mama know what I need”. Another favorite is “Doing Fine” which is a well written track where Zach laments about people he used to know and places he used to go. Songs like this live on the imagery and descriptions and Zach does a good job of painting a picture and taking you back. Whether it’s people he let down or good times he had, this song takes you there.
“Shivers Down Spines” is a great love song on this record. This is one of the songs where Zach gets to showcase some of his range in both vocal ability and songwriting. He can be intimate when the song calls for it. I also love the sudden stop at the end of this one as it’s done to a great affect with the song. Another great love song on this record is “Moon In Oklahoma”. This is another track where the imagery shines. Zach’s lyrics paint a picture that takes you back to scenes from his past.
I could say something about every song on this record, but it’s worth it to seek this one out and listen. It is raw, rough around the edges and straight up acoustic. Just a man and his guitar. Zach even kept the outtakes like the fit of laughter that ends Condemned. Zach Bryan shows some skills here and while there is room for improvement, this is a very impressive record for a debut. I cannot wait to hear more from this young man. He currently does not have much social media presence, or even a website, but you can find his music on Spotify, Amazon, iTunes and other digital services. I highly recommend seeking this record out. It is available as of August 24th, 2019.
Favorite Tracks : God Speed, Doing Fine, Shivers Down Spines, Moon In Oklahoma
