Twangville

A music blog featuring Alt-Country, Americana, Indie, Rock, Folk & Blues. Est. 2005.

Chip’s Best of 2025 – So Far

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I thought I would kill two birds with one stone. My year end best of is a daunting task, so I am going to cut the challenge in half and try to get the Twangville readers to think about what their favorites are so far in 2025. No better to do that than give you […]

Mayer’s Picks – The Best of 2025 (So Far), the Songs

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Wrong End & Black Snake, Mojave Blues, Balto (from the self-released No Hard Feeling) These two songs represent the scope of Balto’s musical power – the unbridled rock and roll fury of “Black Snake, Mojave Blues” and the powerful emotion of “Wrong End”, the band’s seeming farewell to music: I don’t believe in songs no moreIn the long dead horse […]

Mayer’s Picks – the Best of 2025 (So Far), the Albums

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No Hard Feeling by Balto Released quietly in late December 2024, Balto’s surprise album opened 2025 on an incredibly powerful note—impassioned, defiant, and beautifully crafted. From the slow-burning heartbreak of “Big City” to the searing catharsis of “Black Snake, Mojave Blues,” the band channels their frustrations and fading faith in music into a collection that’s […]

Chip’s Top Albums of 2024

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2024 was a difficult year to rank albums. There were so many exceptional releases this year that if I tried to re-rank the list it might look a lot different depending on my mood. My top 5 were the albums that really stuck with me, as for the rest it was very difficult to rank […]

Shawn’s 25 Favs of 2024

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1) Kacey Musgraves – Deeper Well She raised her game to a new level. The insight and emotion in some of the songs on this record really do make me think that cardinal was John Prine. I’m not sure there’s been a better song ever about growing up than the title track. 2) Billy Strings […]

Todd’s Best of 2024

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I had never paid much attention to Katie Crutchfield prior to this year. A friend sent over the video to “Right Back To It” not long after it came out and I was off and running, sucking up Tiger’s Blood listen after listen, then back to her other recordings. Where had I been? Why wasn’t […]

Mayer’s Picks – Best Songs of 2024, Part 2

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I posted my list of favorite from the first half of 2024 back in June (here). Rather than replicate that list for my full year review, consider this a continuation — the best songs from the second half of 2024. Rosemary and Thieves, Garrett Owen (from the self-released Memoriam) Owen’s tale of fractured relationships is […]

Mayer’s Picks, More 2024 Favorites

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Here, in no particular order, are more favorites from 2024.