A good Hiss Golden Messenger record does not arrive like a statement from a mountaintop. It pulls up beside you at a gas station, coffee gone cold, with a half-finished thought about mercy, children, money, God, and whether the map is helping. I’m People fits that line perfectly: a road record with home on its mind, full of M.C. Taylor’s worn-in gospel of doubt and persistence. For a “Then,” Van Morrison’s Veedon Fleece makes the sharper companion, not because Taylor sounds like Morrison, but because both albums use travel as a way to measure the soul’s weather.
Readers’ Pick: Hiss Golden Messenger – I’m People
You picked Hiss Golden Messenger – I’m People as your favorite new release for the week of April 24, 2026.
Reckless Kelly – Alternate Routes
Thirty years ago in a wide-spot-in-the-road Idaho town 300 miles west of Yellowstone, Willy and Cody Braun formed their first band. As the sons and grandsons of professional musicians, their knowledge about how to do that was ahead of most of their garage band peers. One of their first decisions was to relocate to Austin. […]
Good Taste and Short Songs: Teddy Thompson on Influence, Restraint, and Never Be The Same
Teddy Thompson doesn’t talk about influence so much as drift—what finds its way in early, what stays, and what quietly shapes a life without ever announcing itself. On his new album Never Be The Same, Thompson returns to original material after a stretch of country covers records, this time working with producer David Mansfield. The […]
Langhorne Slim on Big Macs, Playing Hard Softly, and His Touring Dream
Nashville singer-songwriter Langhorne Slim talks about touring in a musical clown car and why there is no mountain top in music.
Monday Morning Video – Nathan Bess
It isn’t easy for a solo acoustic artist to command a room opening for a rock band, but Nathan Bess made it look easy. He’s a Charleston firefighter who only started releasing music in 2024, yet his stage presence is seasoned and soulful. Great songs, warm personality, and a voice you can’t ignore. Here is […]
Now & Then: The Milk Carton Kids’ Lost Cause Lover Fool and the reach of Bookends
Some duos sing together. The Milk Carton Kids still seem to share one lung. On Lost Cause Lover Fool, Kenneth Pattengale and Joey Ryan return to the close-mic folk architecture that made them feel less like revivalists than custodians of a fragile old machine. The “Then” is Simon & Garfunkel’s 1968 Bookends, a record that proved two voices and sharp writing could carry the weight of memory, aging, distance, and national unease without raising the temperature much above a murmur. Lost Cause Lover Fool was released April 24, 2026, with nine songs on Far Cry Records/Thirty Tigers.
Readers’ Pick: The Milk Carton Kids – Lost Cause Lover Fool
You picked The Milk Carton Kids – Lost Cause Lover Fool as your favorite new release for the week of April 24, 2026.
India Ramey – Villain Era
No Fear. Nashville’s India Ramey must have taken some inspiration from that clothing line’s name. Lots of musicians have songs about finding their true self and coming to terms with who they are. On Villain Era, Ramey takes it a step further with a confidence and frankness that would make Clint Eastwood blush. She doesn’t […]
Trever M. Keith on Rehearsing in His Buddy’s Garage and Playing 1980’s Covers
Singer-songwriter Trever M. Keith admits to leaving the trailer door open (more than) once and talks about why there’s no such thing as “making it”.