Tag: Country

Album Review: Ashley McBryde – Wild

Since breaking out with her Girl Going Nowhere album Ashley McBryde has cultivated a distinct sound for herself, noticeably different than other women in mainstream country music. Despite still being on a major Nashville label, she has refused to follow trends, instead sticking with a formula of albums filled with passionate heartland rock alongside more emotive, acoustic country ballads. Her only real deviation from that path has been her collaborative Lindeville, which presented a more humorous and playful kind of country music.   

While previous album ‘The Devil I Know’ was stacked with drinking songs, I hadn’t actually realised that alcohol had become such a problem for Ashley until hearing this new album. Maybe that tells you something about country music – I just thought all the drinking songs were just lyrical tropes of the genre and not personal revelations about how she’d basically become the ‘Blackout Betty’ she sang about. 

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Album Review: Kacey Musgraves – Middle of Nowhere

May 1st brings the Flower Moon (so called because spring is now in full bloom) and it’s a perfect day for the return of our cherry blossom baby Kacey Musgraves with her new album ‘Middle of Nowhere’. 

Now there’s been some complaining this week among Kacey fans about the way the critics have called this album a ‘return to form’, not because they don’t like the album but because that comment seems to dismiss her last two albums Deeper Well and star-crossed. Look I loved Deeper Well, especially the title track and ‘The Architect’ which were sanity-saving songs to me but there was definitely some filler on that album, mainly in the second half. I also liked star-crossed at the time and still listen to a few songs on there but Kacey did seem kind of awkward and unhappy in that era, so I do understand where the critics are coming from. 

What both those albums really missed, and what Middle of Nowhere has in spades is simple: country music and a sense of humour. When you hear Middle of Nowhere Kacey sounds like herself again and, well, thank fuck for that. We need her genius now more than ever. 

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Emmylou Harris’s Discography – Luxury Liner (1976)

When I saw Emmylou Harris live earlier this year she played three songs from this album ‘Luxury Liner’ showing the enduring importance of her best selling album. Released in 1976 it was again produced by her future husband Brian Ahern (who she married shortly after its release) and was her second number one country album in a row after Elite Hotel. 

Other artists in country music at the time like Loretta Lynn and Dolly sang songs mainly dealing with issues specific to women, often solo written about their own experiences. Like her friend Linda Ronstadt, Emmylou chose a different path. Luxury Liner, and many of her other albums in this era, were mainly composed of songs written by men, a choice which, subconsciously or not, helped to widen her appeal to male fans of both country and rock. 

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Album Review: Ella Langley – Dandelion 

“It changed my life…a little bit the music but mainly the bangs.’  When Ella Langley credited her haircut as the reason for her success she was only half joking. Go back and watch her old videos and you can see how much the fringe has helped to elevate her whole artistic persona. Her ability to hone the classic seventies look and musical sound of Jessi Colter and Stevie Nicks into something distinctive, modern and yet still traditionally country has sent her into the stratosphere. 

Breaking a female artist into the country music mainstream has been notoriously difficult, breaking a female country artist into an all genre superstar without them having to sing pop music feels like an fairytale. Ella’s living it. She’s only 26. She’s writing from the heart and clearly working with a brilliant team who understand the modern social media landscape. Her last album ‘Hungover’ leaned into the hard drinking, heartbroken persona with enough glamour to appeal across the board. But this new album ‘Dandelion’ feels like a step up to a whole other level altogether. 

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Album Review: Ashley Monroe – Dear Nashville 

Ashley Monroe surprised everyone last week by dropping this new album ‘Dear Nashville’, less than a year after her last record Tennessee Lightning. With the title and the cowboy hat on the album cover it seemed to indicate this was going to be a return to the country sound of her earlier albums after a few years of experimenting with indie, folk and ethereal pop. 

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Album Review: Brit Taylor  – Land of the Forgotten 

Brit Taylor was inspired by listening to the great women of country music for this new album, specifically Patty Loveless and Lee Ann Womack. What she also noticed was how both artists had enlisted their husbands as producers, and so she continued that trend by working with her husband Adam Chaffins. Her last album ‘Kentucky Blue’ was produced by Sturgill Simpson, so he had big boots to fill. The result of their collaboration ‘Land of the Forgotten’ is a hugely enjoyable album of terrific, toe-tapping country tunes. 

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Live Review: Emmylou Harris @ Celtic Connections, Glasgow 16/01/26

Emmylou Harris last played Glasgow at Country to Country festival in 2018, and since she’s turning 79 in April some thought that was the last time she would play this side of the Atlantic.

Luckily for us she decided to grace us with her divine presence one more time, beginning her European farewell tour with this career- spanning celebratory evening at Celtic Connections festival. 

As many fans have pointed out, this isn’t the end. She still intends to tour America and play dates near her home in Nashville.  When she stepped on the stage last night she looked sprightly on her feet and her voice sounded great, suggesting she can run for a long time yet.

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Albums of the Year 2025

We’ve made it to the end of blogmas and I’ve saved the best of the year until last. It’s been great writing a post every day in December and I want to thank everyone for reading the blog this year!

So now for my favourite albums of the year by women artists. The list reflects my own personal listening and is not intended to be any kind of ‘best of’. 

Please share yours in the comments! Click below to read my reviews of each album. 

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