DISClaimer Single Reviews: Brothers Osborne ‘RAWK’ Disc Of The Day

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Brothers Osborne. Photo: Natalie Osborne

DISClaimer is rocking this week.

Putting on their dancing shoes are Ashland Craft, Don Louis, Ernest with Snoop Dogg, The Bellamy Brothers with The Isaacs and DISCovery Award winner Preston Cooper.

Best of all is the rocker by Brothers Osborne, which rolls along with the Disc of the Day award.

LUKAS NELSON / “Ain’t Done”
Writers: Aaron Raitiere/Lukas Nelson; Producer: Shooter Jennings; Label: 6 Ace Records/Sony Music Nashville
– This has a very cool, rootsy sound, a blend of shambling percussion, sawing fiddle, acoustic piano and steel guitar. Nelson sings strongly, driving the quasi-spiritual message of perseverance, faith and enduring wonder. This artist grows more powerful with each release.

JON PARDI / “She Drives Away”
Writers: Jimi Bell/Jordan Minton/Seth Ennis/Zach Abend; Producer: Jay Joyce; Label: Capitol Records Nashville
– Dad watches his daughter go off on a date and get married, thinking back to when he brought her home as a newborn. Gently touching.

ASHLAND CRAFT / “Lie a Little”
Writers: Bryan Simpson/Kelly Archer/Mark Irwin; Producers: Ashland Craft, Lee Starr, Jess Grommet; Label: Leo33
– Slinky, bluesy, gritty and sassy, this twang fest rolls with a steady groove. She has a soulful nonchalance that seethes with charisma. I bet she’s a blast in performance.

BROTHERS OSBORNE / “Finish This Drink”
Writers: Alysa Vanderheym/TJ Osborne; Producers: John Osborne/TJ Osborne; Label: EMI Music Nashville
– This RAWKS. Lightning-bolt lead guitar and flamethrower fiddle electrify the instrumental passages. TJ’s tongue-in-cheek drawl spits a potent, rollicking, frothing tune of a wayward honky tonker while John’s audio stew heats up to boiling.

SCOOT TEASLEY / “Dirt Road Dropout”
Writers: Brett Truitt/Kelly Archer/Scoot Teasley; Producer: Brett Truitt; Label: Amigo Records
– This newcomer is one of my favorites among the 2024 group of Black country stylists. Teasley’s youthful sound is hale and hearty on this upbeat ode to his rural roots. Well worth your spins.

DYLAN SCOTT / “I Hate Whiskey”
Writers: Geoff Warburton/Jaxson Free/Jon Kraft/Michael Ray/Taylor Phillips; Producer: Jacob Durrett; Label: Curb Records
– The reason he hates hard liquor is that it burns, but it doesn’t burn away her memory. A clever twist on a honky-tonk trope, delivered by a solid country hit maker. I also like the soft, spoken-word interjections in the percussive production. Scott always delivers the goods.

DON LOUIS / “She Ain’t Crazy Yet”
Writers: Autumn Buysse/Danielle Blakey/Don Louis; Producer: Kipp Williams; Label: Empire
– A steady, thumping percussion track underscores a splendid vocal performance that shifts between baritone growls and yearning tenor hooks. Louis has been batting a thousand with every release, and this lively tempo tune sounds like a star maker.

DAN SEALS / “Steal a Little Thunder”
Writers: Brian Whitcomb/James Seals; Producer: Kyle Lehning; Label: Melody Place
– The late Dan Seals left behind some unissued music when he passed away from lymphoma in 2009. The creator of more than a dozen major country hits began his career as “yacht rock” performer England Dan. This tune recalls that pop heritage, which is not surprising since it was co-written by his late brother Jim of the pop duo Seals & Crofts. I’m a fan, no matter what style he’s performing.

KARLEY SCOTT COLLINS / “American Boy”
Writers: Alex Kline/Joybeth Taylor/Karley Scott Collins; Producers: Karley Scott Collins, Nathan Chapman; Label: Sony Music Nashville
– Sultry and sensuous. Collins has such a gripping voice that she doesn’t know how to deliver anything less than a masterful performance. Here’s she’s simmering with desire as she contemplates her bad-boy crush. Everything she has released has been terrific. What does this woman have to do to get your attention?

THE BELLAMY BROTHERS & THE ISAACS / “Normal Ain’t Comin’ Back”
Writer: David Bellamy; Producers: Randy Hiebert, The Bellamy Brothers; Label: Bellamy Brothers Records
– It’s a honky-tonk toe tapper with a jaunty tune and a witty lyric that tackles politics, the pandemic, the economy and more. “Normal ain’t coming back, but Jesus is,” they all sing in a waving prairie of vocal harmony. The Bellamys reality TV series Honky Tonk Ranch is now airing on the American Country Network (on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday evenings). Their Old Hippie Stash brand of medical marijuana includes the blends Reggae Cowboy, Big Love, Afterglow, Rattler, Blue Rodeo and Bird Dog.

TIM O’BRIEN & JAN FABRICUS / “Lonesome Armadillo”
Writers: Jan Fabricius/Tim O’Brien/Tom Paxton; Producer: Tim O’Brien; Label: Howdy Skies Music
– Tim’s yodeled lead vocal is the focus of this folkie, acoustic bopper. The armadillo tries to make it in Music City, but strikes out because he hates hot chicken, can’t buy records at Ernest Tubb’s, doesn’t own a Manuel jacket and rejects the winter climate. The song, as well as most of the duo’s Paper Flowers album, is cowritten with folk legend Tom Paxton, who is now 87. Two-time Grammy winner and West Virginia Music Hall of Fame member O’Brien is also the subject of the recent biographical book, Traveler. He plays the Station Inn next Wednesday (April 16).

ERNEST & SNOOP DOGG / “Gettin’ Gone”
Writers: Ben Hayslip/Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr./Ernest Keith Smith/Mark Holman/Rhett Akins; Producer: Jacob Durrett; Label: DeVille Records/Big Loud Records
– Rockabilly meets hip-hop in this merry, rollicking invitation to get stoned.

PRESTON COOPER / “One for the Road”
Writers: Brad Warren/Brett Warren/Preston Cooper; Producer: Brett Warren; Label: The Valory Music Co.
– Dirty rock guitar work, pile-driving rhythm and a fiery, snarling lead vocal characterize this barn burner. Cooper’s debut album, Toledo Talkin, drops next month.

Robert K Oermann
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