Michaela Anne has been on a steady rise since her 2014 debut Ease My Mind. Desert Dove will certainly steepen this trajectory. She is deservedly a major emerging voice in country and Americana circles.

While Gabriels wear their influences on their sleeves, they are able to melt them down to form their own forward-thinking take that is as free and courageous as the genre has sounded in a long time.

The perfect backyard, sunset watching summer folk album, Rolling Holy Golden faces west as Bonny Light Horseman enjoy those tender fleeting moments while they float through our collective consciousnesses, smiling the whole time.

Much is made in the promotional materials about the aggregation of guests: Sarah Jarosz, Charlie Sexton, Bonnie Whitmore, Bukka Allen, and others, but their contributions are mostly subtle. McMurtry and his core band of guitarist Tim Holt, bassist Cornbread, drummer Daren Hess, and harmony vocalist BettySoo do most of the heavy lifting. McMurtry is, for whatever reason, a vastly underrated guitarist and vocalist, yet he shines on both accounts in these ten songs, all but two of which he wrote.

His major shift in styles may not be for all of King’s fans, but it is hard to find much fault in his new, raw, soul-drenched efforts, as King clearly has struck a rich vein when it comes to his songwriting and recording style on Mood Swings.

Throughout Rhumba Country, Pokey LaFarge broadens his sound, effortlessly bringing in world influences to help accentuate his retro Americana core, positively crafting one of the most enjoyable efforts of his long career.

Far from just a slice of history, this roughly thirty-five minutes simultaneously consolidates the creative metamorphosis that preceded it and reaffirms the continued relevance of Bob Dylan’s work.

Heaven Is A Junkyard marks the most powerful and personal album from Powers yet.

With the help of Lopatin’s production and mixing, Sometimes, Forever takes a different approach, creating dense sonic landscapes packed with various analog and electronic sounds. It’s Allison’s biggest risk to date but one that comes with plenty of rewards.

Imaginative, highly literate tales. There’s a real mix of moods, tempos, and themes so it’s best to listen to it in its entirety. You’ll be rewarded.

Rather than completely reinventing himself via the new moniker, Sturgill Simpson delivers more of his same idiosyncratic stylings. Passage Du Desir uses a classic Nashville base that allows ‘Johnny Blue Skies’ to springboard to more pop-oriented sounds and slightly tripped-out structures with varying degrees of success.

Tons of artists have knocked down genre walls in the past, yet few have done it with as much confidence and swagger as Nova Twins on their explosive sophomore album Supernova.

The dynamic and thought-provoking tracklist is just as restless as the lyrics Puscifer wrote for Normal Isn’t, creating a marriage between the ethereal and reality.

A stellar modern Americana/Bluegrass record from the opening track to “Hillbilly Boy,” the impossibly catchy album closer.

Featuring a formidable and typically eclectic tracklist that showcases Bruce’s innovative and forward-thinking compositional and instrumental strengths, Indigo Park stands as one of Mr. Hornsby’s most inspiring efforts in years.

Cowards is an album that takes multiple close listens to unearth the nuances of Squid’s third outing. While the songwriting steals the show, what the band is doing sonically is equally head-spinning.

Shooting for the sweet spot of artists like Radiohead and The National, Other Lives embraces their tense, dramatic, theatrical, orchestral sound, and scope on For [Their] Love.

Another exciting addition to the long-running band’s catalog, Born Horses finds the Mercury Rev stretching out and evolving over 35 years into their career.

Carpenter takes long solo walks around her property to aid in the songwriting process, the fruits of which are evident in the opening “Farther Along and Further In,” about recognizing that something has changed gradually but distinctly. Perhaps with age comes respecting the spiritual over the practical. Empathy becomes the theme of the explicitly stated “It’s Ok To Be Sad” and the standout “All Broken Hearts Break Differently,” which evokes Band-like chord patterns and great dissolving organ-like runs played by Nick Pini on Moog.

The arrangement works, right in line with a suitably restrained performance. As such, it sets a tone of novelty for the album in the best sense of that adjective.

Drenched in swirling reverb, the atmosphere evoked by Talkie Talkie is lush and cinematic – whiffs of surf rock, loping Latin drums, and shiny, liquid guitar twangs.

It’s slightly less immediate than Designer, but more diverse; and it never once feels derivative of any other artist or Harding herself. Even if taken strictly as a vocal exercise, Warm Chris is a triumph, and another key to unraveling her enigma.

The album is eminently funky. That sound works well for a while but begins to wear thin, rescued in the latter half by tracks such as “Concrete Mind,” “Not Gonna Waste My Love” and the superb closer “It’s Alright,” which do the best job of depicting LaVette’s endearing, pour-it-all-out and leave-nothing-on-the-floor-vocals. Of course, there’s a side benefit too – Randall Bramblett is likely to expand his number of followers as a result.

The real highlights for Woods this go around are the four instrumental efforts that each have a distinct vibe yet are linked spiritually. Rather than acting as placeholders they take root as distinct works.

While Me/And/Dad has its share of some genuine knee-slappers, such as “Way Downtown” and “Dig A Little Deeper (In The Well)”, the album ultimately draws its strength from the emotionally charged performances heard on some of the more somber material. ... Me/And/Dad shines thanks to its stripped-down arrangements of traditional material that serve as a welcome counterpoint to the progressive-fueled musical fireworks that often accompany Strings’ live shows.

Fans will already know half the songs which have been periodically released before recent mini-tours, but the overall sound, production and playing combine well delivering a complete full length. On past albums The Hold Steady tried to streamline their sound, Thrashing Thru the Passion proves more is more with this band.

Angel Du$t miraculously showcased their maturity while keeping a keen eye on the elements that make them such a unique voice, all while writing incredibly moving songs.

Spread over nearly a dozen tracks, the band leans more into classic funk and jazz this time around, while carrying over their other influences for one of their finest records yet.