CHAYCE BECKHAM – BAD FOR ME (2024)
Nominated at this year’s CMT Music Awards for Breakthrough Male Video of the Year with his PLATINUM hit single “23”, Amazon Music’s “Breakthrough Artist to Watch” Chayce Beckham also became the first artist in history to win American Idol with his own songs.
All of this means he doesn’t give two shits what Andy from the UK thinks about his debut album, but “Bad For Me” is enough to convince anyone that he’s country’s new star.
Walking a neat line between modern country and the authentic old stuff, the fiddle on “Devil In Me” is on point.
He writes or co-writes most of these, and one of the ones he doesn’t, oddly sums the outlook up. “Cocaine and rhinestones, down some sideroads, what the hell could over go wrong?” goes the first line of the brilliant “Waylon In ’75” – that is to say there’s a darkness here throughout the album, but especially on the title track.
For every cookie cutter “ain’t life brilliant” like on “Everything I Need” there’s the honky-tonk ready “Smokin’ Weed And Drinkin’ Whiskey” or the heart wrenching letter to his mother, “Mama”. That’s his moment and his voice is wonderful.
It ends with the mega-hit, but “23” isn’t the only one that’s going gold.
It’s as obvious as day following night that Chayce Beckham is going to be huge, but it’s no fluke. “Bad For Me” is just very, very good.
Rating 8/10
THE FARGO RAILROAD CO. – TIME AND GRACE (2024)
One of my best friends in the world lives in Sheffield. The last time I looked it was in South Yorkshire. But after listening to The Fargo Railroad Co, it might actually be in the deep south of America.
One listen to the opening “Jackie Come On” – the type of country rock you can’t help but love no matter how many times you hear it – or the follow-up, the more anthemic “Hard Work” will let you know what this is: Working class Americana but with a Northern grit.
“Time And Grace”, their third album, is their best because it is the work of an experienced band. One that’s adept at changing pace, and Melvyn Duffy is especially good on the Pedal Steel on the slower ones like “London Road”, which has a deep sadness at its heart: “I guess everything good, just ups and dies” sings Jody Davies here.
“Moving On”, which is happy to drench itself in harmonica, is a beauty, with its tongue-in-cheek chorus: “I’ll bet he don’t sing in a band” it goes, as “she” is moving on. It is her loss anyway, right?
Roughly split between the serious, like “Waste Of Grace” with its superb keys from Mark Edwards, and the fun, like “Drinking Alone”, “Time And Grace” is the sound of a band playing the music it loves. This means that although you’ve heard it before, it has something of an irresistible charm.
Rating 8.5/10
KATIE PRUITT – MANTRAS (2024)
In the build up to “Mantras”, Katie Pruitt herself says: [the album] “is a full circle journey from self-sabotage to self-compassion”.
That’ll do you as a clue. A clue to the fact that this is the most personal thing you’ll hear.
The opener “All My Friends” is a strident rocker, and this is exceptionally well done. “White Lies, White Jesus And You” is a vehicle for her superb voice and it is marked out by its class.
“Self-Sabotage” the most recent single, is perhaps the type of thing that Brandi Carlile might do (the pair are friends and have toured together). “Jealous Of The Boys”, is the one, though. The one that makes you think and understand Pruitt’s vision here. Dealing directly with growing up gay in the Southern States, it’s not a life experience I can empathise with, but my goodness, it’s a brilliant piece of songwriting.
They all are, actually, whether it’s the more stripped-down “Naïve Again” – taking on a lack of faith and finding love in about four minutes and sounding slightly vulnerable – or the almost pop “Worst Case Scenario”, which is defiant, stoic even, it’s the sound of an artist who knew exactly what she wanted to do here.
Now based in Nashville, I’ll be honest, I’d assumed this would be some sort of Americana. It’s not that. Not at all, but it is, as it ends with the gorgeous “Standstill” , is a confident, classy and brave collection that almost demands attention.
Rating 8.5/10
