John Amen

On the heels of Big Thief’s opus, 2022’s Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You (ND review) and her mercurial solo diptych, 2020’s Songs and Instrumentals, Adrianne Lenker releases her latest non-band venture, Bright Future. Throughout the set, Lenker works with loose song structures, laid-

With her latest LP, All Is Forgiven, Lilli Lewis draws from various tried-and-true templates while offering a sequence notably more introspective than on her previous albums, including 2020’s My American Heart (essay) and 2021’s Americana. The result is her most referential and self-revealing work to

With his fifth studio LP, Higher, Chris Stapleton, assisted by co-producers Dave Cobb and Morgane Stapleton, forges another set of meticulously crafted, adeptly instrumented, and accessible songs. While the Kentucky-born artist continues to mine and rebrand various templates, his voice is undeniably and invariably country, whether he’s

With Gold on the Horizon, Alex Ellis, a.k.a. Our Man in the Field, builds on the lyrical proficiency and vocal depth displayed on his 2020 debut, The Company of Strangers. Frequently addressing the prerequisite subjects of love and heartache, Ellis also comments on more complex themes, such as

Loosely intended as a sequel to 2002’s All Hail West Texas, The Mountain Goats’ 22nd LP, Jenny From Thebes, brims with John Darnielle’s quirky vocals, lit-savvy lyricism, and heartfelt melodies. Unlike the stripped-down and lo-fi West Texas, though, Jenny is fully instrumented and, as with

On his fifth album, Coyote, Dylan LeBlanc continues to mine and integrate rock, blues, folk, and country templates. His voice, per usual, is compelling. His lyrics are evocative, inspired by Southern lit as much as the tones and textures of gothic Americana. The result is an oftentimes riveting set, the