We have no superstar product this week, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t plenty of fine listening. Doing worthy work in this stack of platters are Thomas Rhett, Royal Wade Kimes, Dakota Bradley, Sleepy LaBeef and Chance Cody & Spur 503. In various ways, all of them perked up my ears. Our Disc of the Day award goes to incoming Country Music Hall of Famer Bobby Bare. His entire Darker Than Light album is essential listening. We turn our gaze toward the Lone Star State to find the identically talented Rankin Twins. They more than earned a DisCovery Award. Their record is the first of what will surely be many albums to come.
HEM/Seven Angels
Writers: Dan Messe/Steve Curtis; Producer: Gary Maurer/Dan Messe; Publisher: Peep/Steve Curtis/ASCAP; Waveland
-Hem is an eight-person, mainly acoustic band featuring winsome, breathy lead vocals by Sally Ellson. The enchanting, folk-Americana sound with gentle keyboards and strummy guitars is augmented by atmospheric violin on this featured track and by pedal steel, glockenspiel, choirs and/or full orchestra on others. Hem’s entire Departure & Farewell album is lovely listening.

THE RANKIN TWINS AND DREW WOMACK/Holdin’ Pattern
Writers: Django Walker/Amy Rankin/April Rankin/Drew Womack; Producer: Ken Tondre; Publisher: none listed; RT
-The sisters look retro-stylish and beautiful on cover of their Moonshine & Maybes CD. Its single demonstrates that they sing as good as they look. And the sizzling vocal presence of former Sons of the Desert frontman Womack doesn’t hurt one bit. The mid-tempo tune is made even more punchy and addictive by the chopping mandolin and keening steel work. Lend this your ears.
BOBBY BARE/Lookout Mountain
Writers: Dennis Linde; Producer: Don Cusic/Bobby Bare; Publisher: EMI Blackwood, BMI; Plowboy
-Now that Bobby Bare is going into the Country Music Hall of Fame, don’t you think it’s time that you paid attention to his excellent current album Darker Than Light? One highlight of the neo-folk collection is this rhythmic, driving depiction of the Battle of Lookout Mountain. He sings it with dramatic conviction, and the production underscores his every note with drumming and electric guitars simulating cannon blasts.
AMY ROSE/Party Like A Redneck
Writers: Fraser/Coulson/Beecroft; Producer: After Tuesday Productions (Marty Beecroft/Glenn Coulson); Publishers: none listed; SOCAN; Wild Rose
-I have praised her singing in the past. But this song sucks.
ROYAL WADE KIMES/Dixie Burns
Writers: R.W. Kimes; Producer: George Bradfute/Mike Noble/Royal Wade Kimes; Publisher: Blue Whistler, ASCAP, Wonderent
-This is the title tune to a Civil War era movie written and directed by singer-songwriter Kimes. It is an emotional ballad about the burning of Atlanta, told from the point of view a surviving Georgia man. His tremulous, throaty singing has never sounded more authentic or believable. Well done. The album containing it, A Proud Land, is consistently compelling.
DAKOTA BRADLEY/Somethin’ Like Somethin’
Writers: Mark Irwin/Josh Kear/Shane McAnally; Producer: Byron Gallimore/Tim McGraw; Publisher: none listed; Streamsound
-Streamsound is Byron Gallimore’s Sony-distributed imprint. Dakota Bradley’s jaunty tenor on this sunny, summertime bopper is a worthy addition to a catalog that includes the fine Streamsound tunes already issued by Jaida Dreyer. Catchy and lively.
SLEEPY LaBEEF/Honey Hush
Writers: Joe Turner; Producer: Dave Pomeroy; Publisher: Unichappell, BMI; Earwave
-Veteran road warrior LaBeef blew through town a couple of weeks ago to perform one of his typical barn-burner club sets, celebrate the movie about him at the Nashville Film Festival and sit in with The Time Jumpers. His new live CD kicks off with his roaring rockabilly treatment of this jump-blues standard. Recorded at Douglas Corner in January 2012, this record captures his abundant, multi-genre charm perfectly. Hop on board while he romps through a repertoire that spans Hank Williams, Willie Dixon, The Delmore Brothers, Hank Ballard, Merle Kilgore, Fats Domino and more. Producer Pomeroy is on bass and the esteemed Kenny Vaughan provides the hot electric-guitar licks.
JASON CHARLES MILLER/The Way You Still Want Me
Writers: J.C. Miller/Steve Freeman/Jon Nite; Producer: Dan Hodges/Jason Charles Miller; Publisher: Count Mecha/Bike/Songs of Colton Entertainment/Propps House/EMI April/Jon Mark Nite, BMI/ASCAP; Render
-The guitars scream, the drums pound, everyone makes noise and the song has loads of hooks. But his singing voice takes some getting used to.
THOMAS RHETT/It Goes Like This
Writers: Rhett Akins/Ben Hayslip/Jimmy Robins; Producer: Michael Knox; Publisher: EMI Blackwood/Rhettneck/WB/Tar-Cam-Knox/Get A Load Of This/Universal/Extraordinary Allen, BMI/ASCAP; Valory
-Thomas didn’t have to look far to find his new single, since his daddy Rhett Akins co-wrote it. It’s a rumbling thumper about finding new romance that features a super melodic chorus. Rollicking and righteous.
CHANCE CODY & SPUR 503/The Legend Grows
Writers: Chance Cody/Jared Mitchell; Producer: Greg White; Publisher: none listed; Spur 503
-The sound is “outlaw” all the way with echoey atmosphere, doom-laden guitars, slow and deliberate drumming, searing fiddle and the like. And that’s perfect, since the quasi-spoken lyric is about a renegade gunslinger. Cody’s baritone voice conveys the threatening messages as well as he speaks. Aged perfectly. Featured on the CD The Legend Grows.

I think we’re in the midst of a changing of the guard. On the recent ACM telecast, only Strait and Reba remained from the good old days. And folks like Garth, Chesney, Tim, Faith and Shania now seemed like parental types. Of the upstart, new-breed stars, few shine as brightly as the rapidly rising Hunter Hayes. His “I Want Crazy” single is confirmation that he has arrived. It earns this week’s Disc of the Day prize. I believe that Adam Fears is a Texas-to-Tennessee transplant. All I can say is one loud and hearty, “Welcome!” He wins a DisCovery Award for being so good on so many levels.
MIKE AIKEN/Summertime Song
Writers: Mike Aiken/Tim Buppert; Producer: Dan Baird, Ben Strano and Mike Aiken; Publisher: Big Boat/Saddle Blanket/Buffrin Boy, SESAC; Northwind
-The subterranean bass lines sound like they were recorded at least two counties away from his barely-there vocal.
LOCASH COWBOYS/Chase A Little Love
Writers: Preston Brust and Jaron Boyer; Producer: Noah Gordon and Shannon Houchins; Publisher: none listed; Average Joes
-He invites her to jump in his truck and go for a romance ride. It’s not the most original song in the world, but the warm performance is immensely and endearingly sincere. The glistening production scores bonus points.
WILLIAM CLARK GREEN/It’s About Time
Writers: none listed; Producer: Rachel Loy; Publisher: none listed; WCG
-The CD packaging is gorgeous. The music is junky sounding, and his singing voice is weak.
BLAKE SHELTON/Boy’s ‘Round Here
Writers: Rhett Akins/Dallas Davidson/Craig Wiseman; Producer: Scott Hendricks; Publisher: EMI Blackwood, Big Loud Shirt, BMI/ASCAP; Warner Bros.
-The verses are rapped. The choruses are sung and contain the timeless line, “Chew tobacco, chew tobacco, chew tobacco, spit.” The Pistol Annies pop up occasionally with chirped interjections. Shallow, but undeniably ear catching.
ROY SOLIS/Broken Hearts Are So Cliche
Writers: none listed; Producer: none listed; Publisher: none listed; Avenue 1
-I like the atmospheric, moody, faintly Latin production style. He’s no powerhouse as a singer, but the soft way he caresses the melody is just right.
JOANNA SMITH/Girls Are Crazy
Writers: Joanna Smith, Ben Daniel and Brandon Kinney; Producer: Joanna Smith and Brandon Kinney; Publisher: Sony-ATV Tree, S&S Farms, Red Vinyl, Words & Music, Tom Tom Leis, Songs of Red Bandana, BMI; RCA
-How ironic that such a demeaning song about women should be co-written by one.
SUSAN ASHTON/Love Is Alive
Writer: Gary Wright; Producer: Wayne Kirkpatrick; Publisher: Universal/ASCAP; Be
-Ashton has tried her luck in both the CCM and country genres. Reworking Gary Wright’s 1976 pop smash (it was the follow-up to “Dream Weaver”) probably looked like a good idea. After all, it does have that irresistible chorus melody. Her execution of it, however, is lacking. The arrangement is fine, but there’s no vocal passion here.
HUNTER HAYES/I Want Crazy
Writers: Hunter Hayes, Lori McKenna, Troy Verges; Publisher: Songs of Universal, Happy Little Man, Hoodie, Songs From The Engine Room, BMI; Atlantic
-I wasn’t that impressed by this when he introduced it on the ACM telecast. But the single version has a lot more audio dynamics going for it. His vocal, for instance, goes from hushed to shouted. Also, the tongue-tripping lyric, scat-sung passages, lickety-split guitar work and zippy tempo make ya dizzy with delight.
HAYDEN PANETTIERE/Hypnotizing
Writers: Cary Barlowe, Steve Robson, Caitlyn Smith; Publisher: Castle Bound, We Be Partying, Imagem, Music of Stage Three, Songs of Cornman, BMG Chrysalis, BMI/ASCAP/SESAC, Big Machine
-If the music coming out of the real Nashville sounded as good as the music coming out of the TV Nashville, maybe people would stop making fun of our parade of redneck party songs that stink up the format. Hayden, in particular, seems to make everything she sings sound splendid. Portraying “Juliette Barnes,” she chooses her material to reflect the character’s youthful, pop-country attitude. Her current single is as catchy a ditty as you’ll find.
ADAM FEARS/There’s A Girl Out There
Writers: Adam Fears, Jamie Paulin, Jeremy Stover; Producer: Jeremy Stover; Publisher: none listed; LandStar
-This has it all — a pulse-quickening rhythm track, a sing-along melody, a singer with charisma and a dynamic production. I don’t know who on earth this guy is, but he is sprinkled with stardust. Play and believe.

We’re going for gender equality this week. Here are five guys and five gals who help to make the current Americana scene so listenable. What do Emmylou Harris & Rodney Crowell, Bobby Bare, Bruce Robison & Kelly Willis, The Lumineers, Buddy Miller & Jim Lauderdale and Mumford & Sons have in common? Besides the fact that they sing some of my favorite current records, they’re all Americana acts.
Deserving to join them on my current playlist are Jeff Black, Martha Redbone, Caroline Herring, Kate Campbell, David Olney, our Disc of the Day performer Gurf Morlix and our DisCovery Award winner, Levi Lowrey.
R.J. JONES & THE NECTARTHUGS/Blink of an Eye
Writers: Robert John Jones; Producer: R.J. Jones & Jeff King; Publisher: Nectarthugs, BMI; Subverse
-Jones is a veteran country songsmith whose works have been recorded by Tammy Wynette, Barbara Mandrell, Reba McEntire, The Whites, The Kendalls (”Thank God for the Radio”), Jim & Jesse, George Jones, T.G. Sheppard, Loretta Lynn, Mel Tillis, Susan Raye (”It Didn’t Have to Be a Diamond”), Johnny Paycheck, Alan Jackson, David Frizzell, Buck Owens (”California Okie”), Freddy Hart, Jean Shepard, Vern Gosdin and more. Dreams That Rhyme is his debut album, and he sings his heart out on it. His light, folk-pop tenor voice is backed by stellar acoustic picking throughout. This touching ode about a life in music and the passing of time is just one of its many pleasures.
HARPETH RISING/Amends
Writers: Jordana Greenberg/Rebecca Reed-Lunn; Producer: Bil VornDick; Publisher: none listed; Grimm Rising
-If you fancy the sound of cello, violin and banjo twiddling away while three folk damsels warble, step right up.

JEFF BLACK/Avalon
Writers: Jeff Black; Producer: Jeff Black; Publisher: Lotus Nile, BMI; Lotus Nile
-This Nashvillian’s song craftsmanship has been described as “perfect,” and his works are, indeed, polished gems where not a word is wasted. His B-Sides and Confessions Volume Two CD presents 12 such creations. His accompanists include Sam Bush and Jerry Douglas. On this stirring, slowly-building track, Matraca Berg and Gretchen Peters provide vocal harmonies. Sample this or “Impala,” or “An Evil Lesson Is Soon Learned” or “Molly Rose” and I think you’ll agree that this man is a special, special talent.
MARTHA REDBONE/The Garden of Love
Writers: William Blake/Martha Redbone/John McEuen/Aaron Whitby; Producer: John McEuen and David Hoffner; Publisher: Rez Kitty/Whitful/Next Decade Entertainment/Video Wizards/Hoffman House, SESAC/BMI; Blackfeet
-Redbone is a soulful vocalist of Native American and African American heritage who grew up in Appalachia. Hence, her thoroughly unique musical style. Her Roots Project CD is an ambitious collection that sets the poetry of William Blake to acoustic mountain melodies sung in a gospel-inflected wail punctuated by war-whoop yelps. Prepare to be startled and captivated.
DAVID OLNEY/Go Down Dupree
Writers: David Olney; Producer: Jack Irwin; David Olney/Bug/Three Minute Movie, BMI; Deadbeet
-Robbery & Murder is the third Olney mini-album in a trilogy that also includes 2011’s Film Noir and 2012’s The Stone (All three are also packaged together as Body of Evidence). It kicks off with this righteous r&b stomper which features our hero shouting and growling over a red-hot track featuring blues harmonica, piano triplets and relentless rhythm. Guaranteed to wake you up quicker than a shot of espresso. If you’ve been a fan of this man as long as I have been, you don’t need me to tell you how gripping the rest of the tracks are (”My Family Owns This Town,” for one). Catch Olney’s weekly video postings on his website every Tuesday, each of which features one of his vivid songs, the story behind it and his various musings.
KRISTEN COTHRON/Tart
Writers: Elvis Costello; Producer: Ben Strano; Publisher: none listed; KC
-This Nashville singer/songwriter is now marketing her third collection. Show Me Where the Edge Is dominated by her jazz-pop originals, but also includes three covers of Elvis Costello tunes. This one, for instance, demonstrates how effectively her behind-the-beat phrasing can be in making a song completely her own. Admirable.
GURF MORLIX/Present Tense
Writers: Gurf Morlix; Producer: Gurf Morlix; Publisher: Crankbait/Bug, SESAC; Rootball
-This Austin-based songwriter and stellar producer is noted for his darkly humorous attitude. And he does not disappoint on his latest collection, Gurf Morlix Finds the Present Tense. Bleak, stark and practically creepy in sections, it’s exactly why we love him so. Highly recommended.
KATE CAMPBELL/1,000 Pound Machine
Writers: Kate Campbell/Will Kimbrough; Producer: Will Kimbrough; Publisher: Large River/Will Kimbrough/Blue Water, BMI; Large River
-The “machine” in question is a grand piano. Although Campbell customarily accompanies herself on guitar, the piano was her first instrument, and she returns to it on her current album. This CD title tune is a lilting voice-keyboard outing, but with ace guitarist Kimbrough producing, you can rest assured that other tracks on the collection resound with his notes as well as hers, not to mention such esteemed instrumentalists as David Hood, Spooner Oldham (the subject of the song “Spoonerville”), Dave Jacques, John Deaderick and Paul Griffith. As always, her exquisite songs reverberate with gospel and Southern folk tones. Particularly ear-perking are “Montgomery to Mobile,” which imagines Rosa Parks and George Wallace on a bus ride together, the prison song “Alabama Department of Corrections” with Emmylou Harris harmonies and the civil-rights infused “Wait for Another Day” and “Walk With Me.”
LEVI LOWREY/Hold On Tight
Writers: Levi Lowrey; Producer:Zac Brown, Matt Magano, Clay Cook & John Driskell Hopkins; Publisher: Southern Ground, BMI; Southern Ground
-Lowrey opens concerts for the Zac Brown Band and records for its Southern Ground imprint. The singer/songwriter’s CD I Confess I Was a Fool features this tender-hearted story of youngsters getting pregnant and vowing to share a life together. He sings in a soft, earnest, almost hushed tenor while acoustic instruments swirl around him like mountain mist. Enchanting.
CAROLINE HERRING/Camilla
Writers: Caroline Herring; Producer: Erick Jaskowiak; Publisher: Zelleria, ASCAP; Signature Sounds
-Folk fixture Herring came to Nashville to enlist Steven Sheehan, Fats Kaplan, Bryan Owings, Bryn Davies and Claire Holley for her musical backers on her current collection. The title tune is a Southern-flavored, bluesy, dark meditation on motherhood, crime and punishment. Her haunting delivery is matched, lick for lick, by the interwoven notes plucked by her sterling accompanists.

The platters this week are mainly as blah as the weather. Skies are gray and so are most of these sounds. The most brilliant flash of light is the second single from the upcoming Brad Paisley album. It easily wins a Disc of the Day prize. I know nothing about Clayton Gardner except the fact that his single has been sitting in my to-be-listened-to stack for weeks. Now I’m sorry it’s been buried there so long. He’s got the goods. Also a DisCovery Award.
MARTY RAYBON/That Janie Baker
Writers: Marty Raybon/John Fountain; Producer: Marty Raybon; Publisher: Mart and Mel/Cudzuhollar, ASCAP; Rural Rhythm
-Former Shenandoah frontman Raybon continues his bluegrass journey with a set titled The Back Forty featuring this uptempo romp celebrating the heroine of his old band’s 1993 hit “Janie Baker’s Love Slave.” Among the collection’s coolest tracks are his Full Circle band’s bluegrass reworkings of Charley Pride’s “She’s Just an Old Love Turned Memory” and Webb Pierce’s “Slowly.” The CD’s title salutes the singer’s 40th anniversary as an entertainer.

CHARLIE HAGER & THE CAPTAIN LEGENDARY BAND/Alabama Woman
Writers: Charlie Hager; Producer: Billy Jo High; Publisher:none listed, ASCAP; CH
-The band’s playing is mixed so that it fights the lead vocalist. But he’s bland and colorless, so maybe that’s not such a bad thing.
RACHEL HOLDER/Five Days
Writers: Shane Minor/Rachel Bradshaw/Bobby Huff; Producer: Chuck Howard & Wilbur Rimes; Publisher: EMI Blackwood/Shane Minor/Coburn/Ten Ten, BMI/ASCAP; Curb
-She gets over him in no time, five days to be exact. Full of verve, personality, humor and rhythm. Sprightly. Buoyant.
THE TROUBADEROS/Cowboy Boots
Writers: Jason Royall; Producer: Chris McIuan; Publisher: none listed, BMI; JR
-Perfectly tailored for the lead singer’s two-note range.
BRAD PAISLEY/Beat This Summer
Writers: Brad Paisley/Chris DuBois/Luke Laird; Producer: Brad Paisley; Publisher: none listed; Arista
-It might still be chilly outside, but Brad has a single that sings, “Sunshine!” loud and clear. The cloppy rhythms, snazzy guitar lines, interjected vocal effects and dazzling acoustics in this production are all mighty impressive indications of his ongoing progress as a record maker. Call me dazzled and delighted.
JIGGLEY JONES/Baby Blue
Writers: Jiggley Jones; Producer: Chris Tristram & Jiggley Jones; Publisher: Jiggley Jones, BMI; JJ
-His voice is okay. He has no idea how to write a coherent song. Wandering around blindfolded in search of a melody.
BRANDI CARLILE & EMMYLOU HARRIS/Take Me Home, Country Roads
Writers: John Denver/Taffy Nivert Danoff/Bill Danoff; Producer: Brandi Carlile, The Twins and Buddy Miller; Publisher: Chrysalis One/Ruby Songs/WB/BMG, ASCAP; ATO
–The Music Is You is the title of the John Denver tribute album. Despite his acceptance in country music, few of the tracks are by country artists. My Morning Jacket, Train, Dave Matthews, Evan Dando and the like dominate. Old Crow Medicine Show drops by for “Back Home Again,” and Mary Chapin Carpenter takes on “I Guess He’d Rather Be in Colorado.” Americana fave Brandi performs this, one of Denver’s best known songs. Emmylou is buried in the harmony-vocal mix until the last choruses, when you can more clearly hear her alto backing. In any case, the whole thing sounds like a demo.
BOBBY CHITWOOD/I Won’t Give Up
Writers: none listed; Producer: James “Bubba” Hudson; Publisher: none listed; TXN
-The tune is spare and simple. He begins softly, with stark acoustic accompaniment. I kept hoping his voice would get stronger, and that the production would become more complex. The latter happened with addition of some layered background vocals. The former never did, since he was as tentative sounding at the end as he was at the start.
WYNONNA/Something You Can’t Live Without
Writers: Cactus Moser/David Lee Murphy; Producer: Cactus Moser; Publisher: Cactus Doin’ Work/Old Desperados/N2DCarol Vincent, ASCAP; Curb
-Over the weekend, I watched the absorbing GAC special about what Wy and Cactus have been going through for the past few months. He has produced and co-written her return to disc with quite a bit of flair. As usual, she sings her heart out, and the song gives her plenty of melodic space in which to work. The surrounding production is a stew of electric rock guitars and pulsing percussion.
CLAYTON GARDNER/Happy Ending
Writers: Clayton Gardner/Mack Damon; Producer: none listed; Publisher: none listed; CG
-I like the yearning tenor moan in his voice, and the twanging-guitar upbeat track is a plus as well. A winner.