Steve Earle & The Dukes – J.T.

Following the tragic passing of his son, Justin Townes Earle, in August, Steve Earle quickly began using music as both therapy and a way to pay tribute to his son. Recorded with his band, The Dukes, J.T. features 10 covers of Justin’s songs and finishes with an original, heartbreaking tribute from Steve. Justin and Steve had a strange relationship, having spent much of their life estranged, with Steve even having kicked a young Justin out of his band due to excessive drug habits. It was only in recent years that the two began talking regularly again. Yet the album resists sounding too depressing by often keeping the tunes upbeat, changing them enough to fit the band’s jagged, hard-rocking country stylings while keeping the focus on Justin’s incredible lyrics. A fitting tribute and great overall album, J.T. delivers precisely what it set out to.

Aaron Frazer – Introducing…

Multi-instrumentalist and co-singer of retro-soul outfit Durand Jones & The Indications, Aaron Frazer takes his first stab at a solo album with Introducing. Recorded at Dan Auerbach’s Easy Eye Sound studios, the album carries his clean production throughout, with round, bouncing bass, bright horns, and warm piano and drums backing a slew of guitar and organ sounds. As dense, musically, as it may sound, Frazer’s soprano vocal style glides smoothly atop it all. Perhaps most impressive is the album’s ability to sound both nostalgic and modern, exploring classic soul without remaining in the past. A thrilling debut from a truly talented artist, Introducing cements Aaron Frazer as an essential piece of the modern soul scene. 

Barry Gibb – Greenfields: The Gibb Brothers Songbook, Vol. 1

Barry Gibb wrote countless hits as a member of the BeeGees, and revisits a number of them on the first volume of his Gibb Brothers Songbook series. Recorded in Nashville, Gibb transforms the songs to an acoustic, country-informed sound, the ease of which speaks volumes for the strength of the original writing. While this is successful as is, there’s another layer – each song is a duet. Featuring a number of Nashville’s biggest names, including Jason Isbell, Brandi Carlile, Dolly Parton, Little Big Town, and Keith Urban, to name a few, it adds another dimension and some Nashville authenticity to the project. Hearing so many different, familiar voices on the BeeGees songs is thoroughly enjoyable, almost unexpectedly fun, making Greenfields a real success.

Passenger – Songs For The Drunk And Broken Hearted

Michael Rosenberg, known by his stage name Passenger, is an English singer-songwriter known for his infectious, melodic folk music. His newest is a breakup album, aptly titled Songs For The Drunk And Broken Hearted. Despite the context, the acoustic-driven songs remain upbeat, the album seeming to celebrate simplicity. A clean production keeps Rosenberg’s vocals in the forefront, with acoustic guitar, drums, background vocals and fluttering electric guitars keeping an effective backdrop for the songwriting. It isn’t hard to understand Passenger’s popularity, as the songs are pleasant and catchy, the songwriting straightforward but heartfelt, and there’s a pop sensibility intact throughout and hardly a weak moment on the new album. 

Viagra Boys – Welfare Jazz

Stockholm-based post-punk five-piece Viagra Boys made a big splash in the music scene with 2018’s debut, Street Worms. Known for injecting bits of jazz and country/western into their heavy, jagged punk songs as well as their outrageous on-stage antics, the band opts not to reinvent themselves dramatically for their sophomore release. Why fix what isn’t broken? Welfare Jazz has a nonchalant humor to it, almost a silliness at times, the lyrics seeming to mock the seriousness of the music itself. It’s an extremely fun listen, with Viagra Boys having created a sound truly unique to them.