Considering how good last week’s award show was, I was hoping the country genre would stage a stronger artistic showing this week.

Instead, there is quite a bit of well-polished mediocrity on tap. About half of these singles are routine and/or ordinary.

There are some bright spots, however. Our Disc of the Day belongs to the always reliable Brad Paisley, who is heart-tugging and thoughtful this time around with “Today.” He premiered it on the telecast, and it still sounds good to me.

It’s always a good thing when there are lots of newcomers around. So many, in fact, that I am dividing the DisCovery Award into thirds. The female winner is Kris Bradley. The male prize goes to Brian Milson. And today’s finest newcomer group is the daughter-mother duo I Am.

DONOVAN WOODS/They Don’t Make Anything In That Town
Writers: Donovan Woods; Producer: James Buntin; Publisher: none listed, SOCAN; Meant Well (track)
– This downbeat, piano-and-strings ballad echoes rural desolation and hopelessness. Very, very slow and very, very sad.

THOMAS RHETT/Star of the Show
Writers: Thomas Rhett/Rhett Akins/Ben Hayslip; Producers; Joe London, Julian Bunetta, Thomas Rhett; Publishers: EMI Blackwood/Cricket on the Line/Brooks County Boy/Sony=ATV/Thankful For This/WB, ASCAP; Valory Music
– Rolling and relaxing. She’s a babe, but doesn’t know it. Fortunately, he’s completely smitten and is all too aware. It’s not exactly what you’d call unforgettable, but it goes down smoothly.

THE BAND STEELE/Tan Lines
Writers: Bo Chandler Steele/Benjamin Burton Rubino; Producer: Bob Burrell/Stacy Stavola; Publishers: FMRG/Kadence Faith/B Rubino, BMI; Fire River (CDX)
– Summer love, bro-country style.

CAM/Half Broke Heart
Writers: Cameron Oches/Luke Laird/Tyler Johnson; Producers: Jeff Bhasker, Luke Laird, Tyler Johnson; Publishers: Marvelous Oak/Songs of Universal/Creative Nation/One Year Yesterday/Creative Pulse/These Are Pulse, BMI; Arista/RCA (track)
– She remains a immense vocal charmer. The crunchy track, stacked harmonies and catchy tune are all just right. Plus, the lyric is a clever as all get out. Bop along, with a wink and a smile.

 

CRYSTAL DAY/Brave
Writers: Tanya Hancheroff/Catt Gravitt/Jerold O’Brian; Producer: Biff Watson; Publishers: none listed; CD
-She sings well, and the production supports her at every turn. The song seems wordy to me.

HUNTER HAYES/Yesterday’s Song
Writers: Hunter Hayes, Barry Dean, Martin Johnson; Producers: Dann Huff, Hunter Hayes; Publishers: Songs of Universal, Ogden Avenue Publishing, Creative Pulse Muisc, Pulse Nation, Be Barry Quiet; ASCAP/BMI; Warner Music Nashville (ERG)

– Rocking away a broken romance. He spits her out like a sour grape. The chorus voices shout along with, “OOoos and Wooooos and Nah-nah-nahs.”

KRIS BRADLEY/We Don’t Paint The Town
Writers: Kris Bradley/Daniel Schwarz; Producers: Daniel Schwarz, Kris Bradley & Jeff Zacharski; Publishers: none listed; KB (track)
– She has a juicy, pert delivery with a spicy attitude. Waking up the next morning remembering only that she had a heck of a time. The twangy, punchy track matches her saucy vocal. A winner.

BRAD PAISLEY/Today
Writers: Brad Paisley, Ashley Gorley and Chris DuBois; Producers: Brad Paisley, Luke Wooten; Publisher: New Sea Gayle Music/S.A.R.L./Songs of Southside Independent Music Publishing/Music of Windswept; ASCAP; Arista (ERG)
– Lost in love, reflective, poetic and pensive. Living in a moment of perfection. You’ll want to hold onto this feeling.

 

I AM/Strings
Writers: Anna Pearson; Producer: none listed; Publisher: NayeBird, BMI; IAM (track)
– Anna Pearson is a 16-year-old Nashville singer-songwriter who performs around town with her mom, LeNaye Pearson. Their CD features this solo performance about a street performer who makes it big. It is quite well written. I’d keep an eye (and an ear) on this extremely promising kid.

BRIAN MILSON/Gonna Be A Song Someday
Writers: John Ozier/Josh Dorr/Phil O’Donnell/Wade Kirby; Producer: Anthony Smith; Publisher: Ole Purple Cape/Horipro/Round Hill/Ole Red Cape, BMI/ASCAP; First Short Road
– His baritone is warm, robust and super confident. This is a strong, strong entry with a hooky chorus, a pumping production and an undeniable power. Well worth your spins.

I love listening sessions like this, where new sounds pop up moment after moment.

Therefore, we have a wealth of contenders for this week’s DisCovery Award. Tami Neilson, Morgan Wallen and Whiskey Myers are all worth your spins. And so is our winner. In fact, Paulina Jayne is an essential listening experience.

The Disc of the Day award goes to an old country favorite. It turns out that not only is Sylvia singing better than ever, she has also blossomed into a formidable lyricist. Her It’s All in the Family collection drops on Friday. Get it.

PAULINA JAYNE/Love’s Gonna Always Win
Writers: Paulina Jayne/Trey Bruce/Haley Steel; Producer: Trey Bruce; Publishers: none listed; Girl King (track)
– The atmosphere in this production is heavenly. Her vocal is a piercing arrow of truth. From the lyric to the searing lead guitar, from the pulsing tempo to her soprano swoops, this record has an audio delight around every corner. The layered, multi-voiced finale crescendo will set you free. It’s way more pop than country, but with a disc this well made, who cares what genre it fits into?

WILL CARTER/With You
Writers: Will Carter/Jude Dyllan/Kelly Logan; Producer: Judy Dyllan; Publishers: none listed; WC (track)
– The track is a twang stomper. His lightweight, generic voice doesn’t match it.

BILLY RAY CYRUS & SHELBY LYNNE/Thin Line
Writers: none listed; Producer: Brandon Friesen; Publisher: Brandon Friesen; Blue Cadillac
-Both vocals are almost buried in the mix. He’s singing at the muffled bottom of his range, and she’s seems to be wafting around aimlessly.

WHISKEY MYERS/Lightning Bugs and Rain
Writers: Cody Cannon/Aaron Raitiere/Mark Stephen Jones; Producer: Dave Cobb; Publishers: rougarou/One Tooth/Mark Stephen Jones, BMI; Wiggy Thump
-This is a band of Texas-bred Southern rockers. The drawl in the lead vocal and the crunchy track are both ear-catching. Don’t let the punctuating horns scare you off; this is still in the pocket, country-wise.

MORGAN WALLEN/The Way I Talk
Writers: Jessi Alexander, Ben Hayslip, Chase McGill; Producer: Joey Moi; Publishers: Warner Chappell/Universal; Big Loud (track)
– As you might expect from the title, you can cut his accent with a knife. It’s a cool little record, with a churning backing track that drives it relentlessly forward. Recommended listening.

 

SYLVIA/All In The Family
Writers: John Mock/Thom Schuyler/Sylvia Hutton; Producers: John Mock and Sylvia Hutton; Publishers: none listed; Red Pony (track)
– The 1980s country hit maker Sylvia has spent the past few seasons woodshedding as a songwriter. She co-wrote all but two of the songs on her new CD. On this title tune, she paints a vivid word portrait of a family’s personalities and issues told from the point of view of a matriarch who remembers all. A string section whispers behind her as the ballad unfolds. You’ll hang on every line.

MARK COLLIE & HIS RECKLESS COMPANIONS/Folsom Prison Blues
Writers: John R. Cash; Producer: Tony Brown Mark Collie & David Z; Publishers: House of Cash, BMI; 101 Ranch (track)
-Back in 2001, Collie and his pals staged a show for the inmates of Tennessee’s notorious (and now closed) Brushy Mountain Prison. Now released on CD, Alive at Brushy Mountain includes contributions from bluesman Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown, Texas thrush Kelly Willis and super tenor vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Shawn Camp, plus an all-star band. Collie, who has portrayed Cash on film (and is now acting on the TV series Nashville), tries on this classic like a comfy suit of (black) clothes. Gripping.

TAMI NEILSON/Holy Moses
Writers: T. Neilson/J. Neilson; Producers: Delaney Davidson and Ben Edwards; Publishers: none listed; Outside Music
– Soulful and steamy, prowling the back alleys with burning menace. Her rocking, throaty delivery has more than a little bluesy edge, and band is cooking with gas. This gal has the goods, for sure.

THE KENTUCKY HEADHUNTERS/Beaver Creek Mansion
Writers: Mark S. Orr; Producer: The Kentucky Headhunters; Publishers: Orr House, BMI; Plowboy (track)
– The band’s new one is called On Safari. It kicks off with this Southern-rock gem. Richard Young’s singing has terrific phrasing finesse here. Greg Martin’s lead guitar work is deliciously greasy. Fred Young’s drumming and Doug Phelps’s bass work are beyond solid. They are still one dynamite band.

ALYSSA BONAGURA/Rebel
Writers: Alyssa Bonagura; Producers: Alyssa Bonagura and Mark Petaccia; Publishers: This Is Gold/Scribblin’ Dixie, ASCAP; AB (track)
– I have always thought of her as a pop artist, but on this tender ballad, she aches with country heart. As usual, her young voice is simply lustrous. The track shimmers with piano and strings. I remain an enormous fan. By the way, get this track’s Road Less Traveled parent CD and check out its fabulous, deluxe packaging.

This is the week of the Americana music convention in Nashville.

And make no mistake, Nashville is the headquarters of this burgeoning musical movement. As if to underscore that fact, most of the discs reviewed today are by Nashville area residents. In fact, with the exceptions of John McEuen and Shovels & Rope, all of them are.

The Disc of the Day award goes to Music Row tunesmith Sean McConnell. It turns out that he sings as well as he writes. Catch him Thursday night (Sept. 22) at 12th & Porter.

The DisCovery Award is a tie this week. Zach Schmidt is on his second album (I think the first might have been digital only), yet this is my first exposure to him. Check him out tomorrow at Acme Feed & Seed. Jared Hard, on the other hand, is a complete unknown. But he definitely has the goods.

All three of these guys are singer-songwriters. All three of them have superlative voices. All are talented song craftsman. And all of them will please you immensely.

JARED HARD/10,000 Hydrogen Bombs
Writers: Jared Hard; Producer: Jeff Anderson; Publisher: none listed; JH (track)
– This is the title tune of a six-song EP by this Nashville singer-songwriter. It’s a folkie, strummy, sparsely accompanied, acoustic ballad about how hard love can hit ya. The slight echo on his vocal brings out its tenor resonance and poignant expressiveness. Utterly charming. Elsewhere on the set, he’s accompanied by a dandy, rootsy band featuring fiddle and organ. Throughout, his vocals are cooler than cool, and his songs are consistently splendid. This is a real find.

SHOVELS & ROPE/I Know
Writers: Michael Trent/Cary Ann Hearst; Producer: Michael Trent; Publisher: Famous Nightclub/Noberta Jean, BMI; New West (track)
-The new CD, Little Seeds, officially drops on Oct. 7, but this South Carolina duo did its release party at The Basement on Tuesday afternoon, presumably to capitalize on this being Americana Music Week. Shovels & Rope are previous Americana winners for Song of the Year (”Birmingham” in 2012) and Emerging Artist of the Year. This track is available for an advance listen on the duo’s website. As on prior records, their voices are right in your face and the production hits hard. An instant hit.

 

STEPHEN SIMMONS/West
Writers: Stephen Simmons; Producers: Eric Fritsch & Stephen Simmons; Publishers: Shiny Geode, SESAC; Locke Creek
-This Nashville veteran kicked off Americana Week with a show at Family Wash on Monday (Sept. 19). It celebrated his 10th CD, A World Without. Simmons was a rocker for years in Music City. His evolution to Americana suits his songwriting style, which is conversational and plain spoken, particularly on this track. It muses about cultural heritage, romance, family history and wanderlust, all in a warm, dusky voice that sidles up next to you like a long-lost friend.

SEAN McCONNELL/Holy Days
Writer: Sean McConnell; Producers: Ian Fitchuk/Jason Lehning; Publisher: Warner-Tamberlane/Little Beluga, BMI; Rounder (track)
– Sean salutes Americana Week with a hometown performance on Thursday night (Sept. 22) at 12th & Porter. His self-titled debut CD for Rounder kicks off with this punchy slab of nostalgia for a lost lover. It has more hooks than a tuna boat, which figures, since he’s a total songwriting pro with cuts by Tim, Brad, Martina, Brothers Osborne, Rascal Flatts, David Nail, Buddy Miller, Meatloaf and more. He sells it as a singer, too. This rocks in all the right ways.

 

JOHN McEUEN/Excitable Boy
Writers: Warren Zevon/Leroy Marinell; Producers: John McEuen/David Chesky; Publishers: Songs of Universal/Tiny Tunes, BMI/ASCAP; Chesky (track)
– This Nitty Gritty Dirt Bander surrounded himself with folks like David Bromberg, John Cowan, Steve Martin, John Carter Cash and David Amram. They recorded live in a Brooklyn church building and came out with a collection so rootsy that even Warren Zevon comes across as a hillbilly songwriter. McEuen’s CD release party for Made In Brooklyn will be next Tuesday, Sept. 27, at BMI at 5:00 pm.

ZACH SCHMIDT/Company Man
Writer: Zach Schmidt; Producers: James Maple/Zach Schmidt; Publishers: none listed, SESAC; ZS (track)
– Zach’s Americana Fest showcase is Friday (9/23) at Acme Feed & Seed downtown. He is a Pittsburgher transplanted to Music City, and his blue-collar roots show in this shuffling, steel-soaked ode to hard work that gets you nowhere. Twang with meaning.

BOB DELEVANTE/Kite On The Wind
Writers: Bob Delevante; Producers: Bob Delevante/Dave Coleman; Publishers: A Days Pay, SESAC; Relay (track)
– With his brother in The Delevantes, this guy initially made his mark in Music City via a series of stellar pop/rock albums. Now 20 years into his Nashville sojourn, he continues to bring rock urgency to rootsy Americana efforts such as his new Valley of Days collection. At least that’s what I hear on this opening track.

THE CANTRELLS/Goodbye Cool World
Writers: Emily Cantrell; Producers: Al & Emily Cantrell; Publishers: Sombrero Moon, BMI; Sombrero (track)
– Al and Emily Cantrell have been making entrancing sounds together for decades. Their latest is Weather Reports, and this track is definitely about weather, since it directly addresses the disaster of climate change. As always, Emily is a vocalist of uncommon ability. In the case of this track, she’s a slinky jazz chanteuse. Also as always, Al’s fiddle and mandolin work are exemplary. The rest of the folksy acoustic band is just as dandy. Jim Hoke, Barry & Holly Tashian, Mark Schatz and Al Goll, take a bow.

 

THE COAL MEN/The Singer (In Louisville)
Writer: Dave Coleman; Producer: Dave Coleman; Publisher: Four Minor, SESAC; Vaskaleedez (track)
– Their latest is titled Pushed to the Side. This track from it is kinda snarky, with a decided rocking edge and a dash of wry humor. In the lyric, the crowd isn’t treating the performer well, in between asking for “Fire and Rain” and closing down the bar. I have loved everything this outfit has ever recorded. Dave Coleman, incidentally, is the MVP in this column, since he’s also performing on the discs of Delevante and Simmons.

TATTLETALE SAINTS/Big City Women
Writer: Cy Winstanley; Producer: Josh Kaler; Publisher: none listed; Old Oak (track)
– These folks are New Zealanders now based in Nashville. Their new, self-titled, CD features this romping, innocent-sounding toe tapper about being ignored by sophisticated ladies. There are spices of twang and rockabilly behind the boyish, sweet lead vocal. Also worth a listen is the gently wistful ballad “Little Richard Is Alive and Well in Nashville, TN.”