Stills’ vocal limitations, brought on through age and hearing loss, are well known by now. But in this looser environment they are almost an asset as he spits out lyrics with joyful abandon.

The lyrics are maybe a bit more intricate this time around, but they still rely on open-hearted platitudes about life lived hard and love without restraint, the eternal human struggle between the righteous path and inclinations to darkness, and, of course, well-timed “whoa-oh” shouts than can sometimes say it all.

Like the most powerful of drugs, it will initially make you feel queasy. But once that passes, there’s a tangible bliss to be had... it’s the stuff addictions are made of.

Stitch Of The World contains a few songs that detail how those cracks were made and a few more that show them in the process of healing. The unifying factor is Tift Merritt, and that’s enough to make this one a keeper.

It’s a cohesive and complete statement, one of Calexico’s best yet.

It’s a decisive step forward in their sound.

Her most diverse work yet, careening from the stark acoustic with sparse drums and bass opening “Grace” to the crashing, grinding grunge guitars of “Wheelbarrow,” the latter an electrifying performance closer to Nirvana than anything in the Americana genre Chambers calls home.

In these tough times, Thile's words, and the album as a whole, are more effective than the titular tonic at staving off inclement weather, at least of the emotional variety. A strong dose of Antifogmatic goes a long way.

Jerry Jeff serves the purpose well by turning the spotlight on an artist that deserves greater attention within the Americana arena. Earle’s effort to share his songs will hopefully contribute to that added appreciation.

The “friends” may bring more eyeballs, but Dion matches and even surpasses them on these fiery blues originals which, considering the stars involved, is an impressive achievement.

Ultimately then, See You in the Stars is as footloose and fanciful as its handle suggests. When Broudie indulges his instincts, the possibilities can become sky-high.

Mostly though, Celebrants comes across as a bold new venture, one that’s unrestrained in terms of melody, motif, and obvious enthusiasm.

The set was recorded in four days with no overdubs and only a few takes for each track. That provides a fresh, revealing quality that weaves through the songs. Although each can stand alone, there is a tangible groove to the playlist capped by the concluding “Gloryland,” a traditional hymnal that closes this terrific effort on an appropriately sanctified note.

Bob Dylan may have gone to drastic lengths with his music to achieve the simple pleasures he sought. Those willing to accept simple pleasures in return will find plenty to like on Another Self Portrait. It’s a collection that shows that Dylan may not have been painting masterpieces in 1970, but he was still delivering colorful miniatures.

Do To The Beast is nowhere near as tortured as the band’s masterpiece, 1993’s Gentlemen. But it’s still comfortable in the shadows, and for that matter, kicking up a good bit of noise.

These versions show a seldom seen side of Chris Cornell’s talents. They deserve to be heard by both existing fans and especially those unfamiliar with his stunning vocal talents.

The Yawpers never fall into cliché or dumb down their creativity, which makes American Man a success on every level.

He may be feeling wounded by love, but Escovedo's follow-up to 2008's career-defining Real Animals is an almost equally strong testament to his durability.

Despite the downbeat album title, Johnson has crafted winning, uplifting music that’s inspirational, even rousing, under any name.

“If They’re Shooting at You,” “Deathbed of my Dreams,” “Do It for Your Country” and “Prophets On Hold” manifest as engaging and affecting ballads, sweetly suggestive and instantly engaging.

Why Me? Why Not. is indeed comparable to one of Macca’s recent solo albums, a little modern, a little throwback, a lot of good stuff. Don’t miss out on the resurgence of Liam Gallagher while you’re hoping against hope for the return of his former band.

12 Stories, a record full of humor and pain, remorse and reckoning, is one of the very best country debuts of 2013.

This is raw, honest Americana featuring a punky edge that connects due to the power and passion it’s played with and inspired by.

It is also one of his most consistently rewarding efforts since the heady early records.

Although certain songs on the new record offer her a catharsis of sorts —”When She Comes,” “Half Hanged Mary” and “Bones” being some of the more obvious examples — the album overall finds her exuding a decided clarity and confidence.

These days, a classic croons are cool again. Witness the 90-something year old Tony Bennett or the ongoing admiration for Sinatra, Bobby Darin and others that share that seemingly romantic repast. In that regard, This Dream of You offers comforts you can count on.

Loveless may have left the twang behind, but returns with one of the most powerful, moving and musically sophisticated offerings in a career that is clearly still growing despite, or perhaps because of, any self-doubts.

This record is all over the map, showing how widespread Loretta Lynn's influence has been on the generations of performers who have followed her.

All Your Favorite Bands is an inspired record full of space, swagger and warm, analog glow.

Give credit to the band’s founders and co-producers bassist Robert Mercurio and saxist Ben Ellman who molded this album and show that Galactic doesn’t need a stable front person, or even a singular approach, to make their dynamic music connect with playful passion and vibrant integrity.

It's beautifully conceived, timeless music perfect for pity parties, languid Sunday mornings or times when introspection doesn't need to mean wallowing in sorrow.

For those so inclined, Songs for the General Public is a giddy musical roller coaster ride through the poppier aspects of the 70s with more twists and turns perhaps than are necessary. Hang on tight and enjoy the trip.

Once you hear any of them, you’ll want more, especially since this compact 32 minute disc ends way too soon.

It’s over in a compact 36 minutes but that’s plenty of time to realize this outfit is taking no prisoners in the quest to tear the roof off the sucker.

The Lone Bellow stands as one of the most consistent bands of the last 20 years. Across Half Moon Light, the trio ventures outside their usual musical box, alongside producer Dessner (the man behind 2015’s Then Came the Morning), to provide richer, poppier, and bolder textures. Yet it is never at the expense of their lyrical bite.

One of the band’s finest and most alluring offerings to date.

On Dark Arc, the craftsmanship and lyricism reveal a uniquely singular band informed by Appalachian mountain music and the explosive recklessness of punk.

No one makes music quite like this pair. If Frank Zappa took drugs, this might be the result. The more you listen, the more you hear and if ever there was an album perfect for listening with headphones and the lights out, this is it.

It’s a feisty, dynamic hour long set that does what it sets out to: captures Armstrong’s indefatigable spirit and keeps his music alive for a new generation.

It’s as strong an album as Cantrell has ever released--even if it took nine years to get here.

Del Rey has certainly carved out her own niche in the world of singer-songwriters, much as the quasi-namesake of Norman Fucking Rockwell! did in the art world. This shows her refining that approach, adding a few new brush strokes here and there, but still providing a unique and fascinating tableau as a whole.

This isn’t as immediately powerful or riveting as Love & Hate. But the multifaceted material, along with the pioneering, organic and often offbeat production, grows on you. Listening closely with headphones heightens and intensifies the experience.

By turns arched, ambitious, intriguing and expressive this sprawling 20 song set recalls the band’s earlier epics with melodies that boast the same elevated intensity that’s driven their signature sound from early on.

Despite a half decade of keeping relatively quiet, Orton has emerged with a fresh approach, and a batch of songs both intricately gorgeous and, more importantly, a hearty distance from familiar.

There’s something rich and nourishing about it. And that’s true of all of Doug Paisley’s music, which is strong on melody and comes from a place of genuine emotion. Whatever you choose to call it, music like this is universal.

A rollicking set that nearly two decades in, stands as some of the Old 97’s finest and most exhilarating music.

Like the previous set, this is another batch of slightly skewed but affectionately crafted R&B, heavily tinged by mid-’70s affectations with some blues touches. ... Most impressive though is how soulful a vocalist Dan Auerbach is.

Graveyard Whistling proves that even in the young man’s game of country rocking, growing older is no impediment to creating exciting, even exhilarating music that feels vital, fresh and dangerous.

No excuse is necessary. Costello is right back where he belongs and the rewards are that much better as a result.

Starting Over finds Stapleton not only maintaining his momentum, but also opting for diversity as well. While his influences are as obvious as always, he breaks out of the Southern rock mold he established early on.

[Kevin Barnes] sounds like he’s gotten more comfortable here, and while that doesn’t always make for the best music, in the case of Of Montreal, it resulted in one of their best.

A fine comeback by any measure. Some 60 years on, the Stones are rolling as effortlessly as ever. Welcome back, boys.

Overall, the hardest part about listening to Noah Cyrus’ The Hardest Part is turning the album off.

His singing partners, all of whom bring their “A” game. They help make what could have been a forgettable, tossed off, commercially driven, contract fulfilling item into one of the singer’s more memorable projects. And with a catalog as rich and deep as Van Morrison’s, that’s high praise indeed.

Living in a Burning House‘s 13 songs pay tribute to his influences without sounding like any of them.

The reunion was a long time coming and exudes the tasteful sophistication and sympathetic camaraderie you’d expect from this pair of veterans reveling in each other’s presence.

U.F.O.F. is a beautiful album, but one that finds Big Thief a little more willing to push their limits, both in terms of abrasiveness and grace. Perhaps Big Thief are no longer a secret, but they continue to draw the listener ever closer.

Joni Mitchell is working in a basic acoustic folk idiom here, albeit with some wonderful compositions. While the “buyer beware” warning isn’t needed since the contents are clearly noted in the box’s title, suffice it to say this is geared toward historians, hardcore folkies and/or Mitchell fanatics; basically those willing to fork over nearly $60 to explore her musical back pages.

Silver Tears is an achievement that would make any singer-songwriter proud.

Why it took ten years to craft is unclear, but if this qualifies as a comeback, The Hives have returned with a thunderous buzz.

What Happened To The LA LAs is a bit different, though hardly so different as to alienate its core fan base.

Western Stars is erratic in the first half, as Springsteen’s need for exposition sometimes grinds uneasily against the sweep of the music. But the second half is a profound pleasure. ... It makes you wish that Springsteen could dash off an album full of such country songs. Until then, Western Stars will have to do, and it does just fine.

With Earth to Dora, Everett adds another emotionally edgy chapter to his artistic and spiritual journey that existing fans will appreciate, even if he still does need Novocaine for the soul.

There aren’t many surprises on My Way, but that’s unimportant. Nelson’s in terrific voice, he clearly loves the material and delivers each of the 11 tracks with beautifully nuanced authenticity.

Few acts inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, as Cheap Trick deservedly was in 2016, are cranking out music as fresh, honest, energized and explosive as these guys have released in the past two years.

This long-awaited comeback of sorts for Cooder is a joyful, intense and occasionally humorous experience that any Americana fan will enjoy.

Even if the sound is perhaps slightly slicker than fans might expect, Redemption & Ruin is a wonderfully successful foray that solidifies and expands the band’s already impressive credentials around a concept that’s a natural extension from their existing catalog of originals.

Dude, The Obscure gets stronger as it goes, its second half filled with laments both specific (the complaint about a big-city wannabe in “NY”) and vague (the overarching malaise of “Lit By Midnight”).

This tribute may do a better job of conveying Clark's power than his own recordings.

With Goodnight Rhonda Lee, Nicole Atkins gets all the pieces to fit. The singer may not have been made for these times, but she creates a defining portrait of an artist whose grasp of the past creates ageless, enduring music for any year.

This is another compelling example of Lavette's finely tuned interpretative talents taking songs to places you might not have imagined.

Save some production switch-ups, 1989 (Taylor’s Version) doesn’t provide too many revelations, but that is the point. Moreover, we will have the Vault Songs on repeat until we are gifted even more new music from Swift.

Kamikaze is another solid entry in a catalog that’s put So So Glos in a league with fellow punk rabble-rousers Titus Andronicus and Joyce Manor.

With guest artists like '60s organmeister Booker T. and Americana legends Gillian Welch and Dave Rawlings, Jones and Johns have made a real statement in the same way that Rubin, and of course T Bone Burnett, do almost every time they produce an album. That statement is that the same people who set the bar decades ago for so many of today's acts to measure up to are still making a lot of today's best music. Praise and Blame raises that bar just a little higher.

The crooning background vocals rise and trade phrases with a simple guitar solo that follows the melody of the main vocal line. It's a flush and full sound in perfect pairing with a sentiment that defines the entire album.

A Treasure is full of little disclosures like that, deeply personal without being confessional, engaging without trying to be, and revelatory because of his small observations and his uncommon insight into ordinary detail.

Inclusions is a thoughtful and thoroughly imaginative album about what a huge and complicated undertaking it is to truly relate to other human beings, what with all our mismatches in expectations and differences in background, experience and belief.

22, A Million occasionally confronts and challenges with its willful weirdness, but Bon Iver can still locate that lonely cabin, if only in spirit, when Vernon really wants to dig deep.

Those who dismiss his vocals as monotone are missing out on the soulful power he brings to “Did I Ever Love You” or the sly humor he ladles on “Slow.”

At its best, it’s a reasonable recap of their strengths kicked up a few notches for the small stage they hadn’t played in far too long with a tight band and generally stripped down (no horns, backing singers) lineup featuring then new guy Ron Wood. Those looking for “satisfaction” won’t hear that tune but will get gratification from the majority of this long sought-after audio document.

If you love stories of the broke, the broken, the alcohol-addled, the freakin’ fatalistic, sung and played by guys who know how vicious life can get, you’ll want this album.

Like an open wound, The Idler Wheel isn't always pretty, but it pulses with life, brutal and true.

Here's To Taking It Easy stands as a triumphant proclamation of Phosphorescent's ongoing ability to provide quality heartbreaking Americana.

Lightbody and company manage to deliver an unyielding and substantially satisfying collection of high quality upbeat tracks and atmospheric ballads.

A sometimes harrowing but ultimately hard-earned triumph, seems to have reinvigorated Showalter to keep Strand Of Oaks afloat as the search continues.

his Modern Glitch encapsulates true maturity, both musically and emotionally.

Divine Providence, music that the Creator Himself may have sent, is the best, funniest, most detailed, thrilling blast of rock and roll since The Hold Steady's Boys And Girls In America.

The setlist is expanded and the sound quality is more than adequate to ensure Young is spotlighted in fine form. Taken in tandem with his other live recordings, Dorothy Chandler Pavilion 1971 ranks among the more essential offerings of Young’s current crop of releases.

Gloryland certainly stands as a glorious example of Americana songwriting.

The Kingdom is a healthy and dynamic record, leaning toward a heavier sound that is majorly consistent. And Rossdale’s piecemeal, emotive style of songwriting serves the record well, leading with heart and less structure or obligation.

Choose the edition based on your appetite for this remastered/reissued meal. In any version, these sonically refreshed songs are well worth hearing, or reacquainting yourself with, and are an integral chapter in the Beach Boys’ long, influential history.

his is as organic, honest, and powerful as soul gets. Between Roth’s guidance and Lee Fields’ riveting performance, this is a contemporary/retro-tinged classic, one that any lover of the genre will find timeless and inspirational.

Still Corners stitches a seamless amalgamation of lyrics, vocals, production and song composition, all of which makes The Last Exit an early contender for one of 2021’s finest, and most enduring releases—one to listen to, absorb and bask in.

All in all, Congratulations pushes MGMT in the right direction. Rather than resting on their deserved laurels, Vanwyngarden and Goldwasser challenge themselves sonically, creating a follow-up that will test even the most astute audience.

They've perfected the balance of gorgeous songwriting and rabid musicianship, so we can't wait to see what they do next.

The combination of the sister’s voices on this material is stunning in its natural beauty. Stripped-down arrangements and producer Teddy Thompson’s light hand help accentuate the words, emotions and the interwoven singing.

Follow Elvis Costello down the twisting paths of Look Now and you’ll find they lead to sublime musical destinations.

Not all of it is easy listening, but all of it is worth hearing.