Jonathan Keefe

6 days ago | countryuniverse.net | Jonathan Keefe

Several four star efforts this week. The CastellowsHomecoming A step up from their debut EP, this brief record establishes a clear identity for the sister act. There’s still an oddly flat affect to some of their singing– on the Patty Loveless cover, especially, but what taste!– but the overall vibe here really works. SachaWoman in the Mirror She’s always been quite good, but here’s where it all really gels for Sacha.

6 days ago | countryuniverse.net | Jonathan Keefe

Milo Marks digs down deep. “Let the Music Get Down in Your Soul”Miko MarksWritten by Frederick KnightJonathan Keefe: It’s interesting that this single isn’t credited to Miko Marks & The Resurrectors, the backing band that has helped her create such a winning balance of twang-forward country soul. The arrangement here is certainly a more straightforward Southern Soul– Stax Records is always the lodestone for this type of comparison– than we’ve heard from Marks on her remarkable run.

6 days ago | countryuniverse.net | Jonathan Keefe

Creative production elevates two very different tracks. “Find My Way to You”I’m With HerWritten by Sarah Jarosz and Aofie O’DonovanKevin John Coyne: I’ve never been a pure bluegrass fan, but I love the more progressive elements of that scene that subvert expectations. Granted, I only ever got as experimental as Nickel Creek, so it’s no surprise that this supergroup that features an NC alumnus hits my sweet spot.

1 week ago | countryuniverse.net | Jonathan Keefe

Sam Stoane leads another strong week. The SteelDriversOutrunThe through-line of outlaws– of both the legal and spiritual varieties– in the characters here makes for a loose concept album that is perfectly-suited for this outfit’s rough-hewn, forceful brand of bluesy ‘grass. Their best, most cohesive album in some time. Sam StoaneTales of the Dark West Stunning.

2 weeks ago | countryuniverse.net | Jonathan Keefe

A bumper crop of goodness this week. Avery Annalet’s go letters Wisely leans even more in the Ashlee Simpson emo-pop direction that suits her best, but her lyricism is still too unrefined to pull off some of this TikTok Therapist conceit without mixing messages in odd and ineffective ways. And there’s a “crying needs an audience” affectation to some of that overall conceit, too.