Ebb and Flow
Logbook Entry 2
Singles
Carter Faith’s ‘If I Had Never Lost My Mind…’
Fresh off 2024’s extended play The Aftermath, the North Carolina native returns with single ‘If I Had Never Lost My Mind…’ that finds her pushing the steady confidence displayed across that previous release out into glorious uncharted waters. Faith has always been an artist who thrives in the chaos of thrashing emotion but this pining opus finds her floating further into the burning churn of solitude. The ethereal confession modernizes the stylings of 50’s vocalists like Connie Francis and Brenda Lee to bewitching results. An unshakable single that’s a break-through ready to happen.
Ghost Hounds’ ‘House A Home’
On their upcoming fifth studio album, Almost Home the band celebrates the complicated journey of building a life, a topic that is thoughtfully explored on their intimate new single ‘House A Home.’ The intricate blending of country, roots and rock elements gives an inviting feeling of warmth and lived-in nostalgia to match the forthright lyric. While SAVNT’s soulful vocals bring forth ample emotion, what strikes a chord is the noticeable chemistry between the newly expanded band that play in euphonious unison.
Johnny 99’s ‘Just Like You’
The latest from one of North Country Collective’s songwriting dynamos whistles with swinging honky tonk energy. A slight departure from 2021’s more alternative leaning album Words Left Unsaid, ‘Just Like You’ is a pure, classic cut with welcome touches of the Bakersfield sound. Reminiscent of the distinctive vocal stylings of the late, great Buck Owens, Johnny 99’s honey coated tenor effortlessly slides into a two-step beat as he laments moving on from one heartbreak to another. Though never the victim, he welcomes the pain that only a resilient heart seeking love could understand.
Just Clark’s ‘Dead End St’
The native Texan troubadour continues his self proclaimed quest to revive the rustic sounds of classic Americana music with jaunty ‘Dead End St.’ While previous release ‘Mama’ immersed itself in traditional country and gospel tinged soundscapes, ‘Dead End St ” enters into a Southern blues and roots territory that could easily be heard on a walk down Frenchmen Street in New Orleans. Produced by Max Harms, the warm composition highlights Just Clark’s preternatural storytelling and vocal inflections that are infused with an everpresent air of mischief.
Terra Lightfoot’s ‘Higher and Higher’
While currently on tour to support her JUNO Award nominated album Healing Power, Lightfoot drops the first ever released co-write of her career. Written with Tyler Chester and produced by long time producer Gus van Go, ‘Higher and Higher’ reverberates with prismatic light and kinetic spirit. As a thrilling seeker, Lightfoot has never allowed the creation of her work to be confined by genre or underlying subtext. This latest addition represents the extent of the journey she takes with each piece. The rollicking composition of guitar and piano recalls the intricate grandeur of Elton John’s magnum opus Goodbye Yellow Brick Road. Think of the weird and wonderful bounce of ‘Bennie and the Jets.’ Yet the true focal point is Lightfoot’s astounding vocal performance that demonstrates her heartfelt abilities in range and interpretation.
Trousdale’s ‘Want Me Back’
Though sometimes forgotten, it was Cyndi Lauper who first released ‘I Drove All Night’ in 1989 long before Roy Orbison and Celine Dion’s notable versions. Brimming with lustful power, the single from her third solo album, A Night to Remember combined rock, pop and electronic elements to create a multi-layered universe full of desperate desire. The second release from Trousdale’s upcoming sophomore album Growing Pains, recalls the same kind of cross genre magic that Lauper so famously heralded. The harmonic trio creates a vibrant technicolor fever dream to encapsulate that pit-in-the-stomach feeling of longing for love that no longer serves you. Individually Quinn D’Andrea, Georgia Greene, and Lauren Jones are each nuanced singers but when their voices combine is when ‘Want Me Back’ becomes electrifying.
Albums
Sean McConnell’s SKIN
On his fifteenth full length album, McConnell confronts his beliefs on aging, mortality and love across 11 intimate tracks that each act as inviting conversation starters for the listener rather than definitive answers to life’s burning questions. Though this should come as no surprise as McConnell has consistently delivered rousing, deeply felt observations on life for over 25 years. Though with SKIN, Nashville’s favorite songwriting virtuoso has not just delivered his most accomplished work but an assured promise that the best is most certainly yet to come.
Musically, SKIN represents a striking departure in composition. Instead of venturing back into the solitude of his home studio, McConnell chose to record the album live with his touring band. The results are a diversity of sound from sparse string arrangements to layered percussion that produce a viscerally distinct feeling for each song while cohesively representing McConnell’s evolutionary journey as a whole.
“When you’re twenty, all your demons have a sexy kind of buzz/When you’re forty, it’s a way of losing everything you love,” sings McConnell on unnervingly relatable ‘Demolition Day.’ It’s an alternative rock rally cry for changing course but further the spark that lights the exploration of SKIN. ‘The West Is Never Won’ is a sonic lullaby of unflinching self love that cheerfully encourages the challenge against the world’s assertions. Though on searingly reflective ‘Glasgow Rain,’ McConnell finds the beautiful glory in facing his darkness head on, hoping for light to come forward. As his voice reaches the pinnacle of the soaring chorus, it’s clear that perhaps he’s reached that understanding. Understanding that is expertly demonstrated on the soulful ‘Older Now’ that celebrates fully accepting the unknown.
In worldly times of chaos and painful struggle, SKIN is a firm testament of our universal abilities to evolve for the better. McConnell creates and executes with such heartfelt conviction it's impossible to not welcome change in ourselves.
Logbook Entry 1
Singles
Cameron Whitcomb’s ‘Hundred Mile High’
The Nanaimo, British Columbia native howls with unhibited passion across a plucky, regimented beat to fully enhabit this tale of tragic, irresistible love. Or it is obsession? Or lusty infatuation? Does it even really matter when a song is this rich with curious detail? Whitcomb is a barefoot marthoner of an artist. The rare kind that welcomes discomfort to create with reckless abandon. ‘Hundred Mile High’ never relents and is always rightfully in overdrive. It’s an undeniable smash.
Cody Tyler’s ‘Harper’s Ferry’
Tyler describes his music as “black dirt country from Pennsyltucky” which seems like an apt description of new single ‘Harper’s Ferry’ as he fully captures the rustic, often forgotten magic of the region. “Let’s get out and live while we’re still alive,” he sings with regretful longing to his love. It’s a pure statement of sacrifice and yearning for freedom that no longer exists as life continues to evolve. A tender reminder that sometimes a thoughtful daydream is simply enough to get through a hard spell.
Gabriel Kelley & Ben Chapman’s ‘Slowed Down Things’
Fresh off his stellar 2024 album Downbeat, Chapman joins forces with fellow soulman Gabriel Kelley for this blues infused throwback duet. The combination of their sizzlin’ vocals strikes all the right chords on this fever dream wish of a reprieve from the relenting city streets. Between the killer guitar solos and the strikingly visual imagery presented it would be hard to deny either of these gentlemen a one way ticket back to that beloved muddy river.
Maggie Rose & Vince Gill ‘I Can’t Make You Love Me’
Rose’s Grammy nominated album No One Gets Out Alive found the powerhouse vocalist exceeding the artistic limitations of Music Row to create a body of work that offered her dynamic point of view while expanding her audience along the way. It’s wonderful to see an artist of her calibur finally get their much deserved recognition which is why this dazzling cover alongside legend Vince Gill feels like such a deserved victory lap. The nuanced, subtle choices that Rose makes in her vocals to fully unite with Gill is reason enough to hit repeat. She’s made a timeless classic her own which is just another added sparkle to this rising star.
Summer Dean’s ‘Somebody’s Knockin’
After delivering the critically acclaimed 2023 album The Biggest Life it was nearly impossible to imagine where Summer Dean would travel to next. The oracle that chose a neon-sparkin’ cover of the beloved Terri Gibb’s classic ‘Somebody’s Knocking’ has already won 2025. Those that have followed Dean’s career thus far know of her country phenom status but on this delicious cut she secures vast acreage in honky tonk heaven. With effervescent confidence, Dean serves such an intoxicating amount of sex appeal that you’d be wise to leave the keys in your pocket, stay off the roads and just call that Uber. You won’t be driving tonight, Dean has the wheel in full control. It’s an absolute legend making turn from an artist that continues to refine her craft.
Albums
Mary Bragg’s The Quiet One
Listeners shouldn’t be fooled by the title of the Americana Queen’s lastest entry to her storied catalog as Bragg’s talent is anything but hushed; in fact it could move mountains. The Swainsboro, Georgia native has been exploring and evolving her ample gifts since 2017’s break-through Lucky Strike. Similarly here, The Quiet One showcases her staggering abilities in exceeding even her own previous technical achievements. Across a mere five songs, accompanied by the brilliant Jon Estes on piano and guitar, Bragg creates a sonically full landscape that conjures the stabilizing feeling of self acceptance.
The opener ‘Songbird’ cover glides through the air with the supple, soft power of deeply felt love. When Bragg sings, “I love you, like never before” it’s as if such a statement has seldom been expressed given the experimental choices that she offers with her vocals. A similar approach on ‘LimeLight’ successfully expresses the internal highs and lows of pursuing an art when the world is deeply struggling. Co-writer Brady Stablein’s feature adds a gorgeous edge to Bragg’s luscious melodies especially on the chorus. At first glance, Bragg’s selection of Aerosmith’s hit ‘I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing’ seems strange until she hits that first note. Throughout Bragg expertly showcases the sheer elegance of Diane Warren’s insurmountable gifts by giving each line air to truly hang and resonate. Though its of course on the title track where Bragg’s sincere songwriting and open heart on display comes into focus. As she proudly confesses, “I’ll never be the one the room revolves around/But I want to be the face you pick out of the crowd” its impossible not to take ample notes of that kind of brilliant confidence.
While certainly a safe space in dark times, The Quiet One isn’t passive but a resilient force of hope and light. Yet again through sheer force of truth and discovery, Bragg continues to shine bright.
