outsider-approved-new-albums-july-8-2022

Outsider-Approved New Albums for July 8, 2022

Well, fellow Outsiders, it’s another week of slim pickings on the new album front. Luckily, like last week, this week’s selection is all about quality over quantity. I don’t know about y’all, but I would take a handful of killer new releases over a whole stack of mediocre records any day of the week. If you’re looking for something new to take you into the post-holiday weekend, I assure you one of these records will fit like a glove.

New Albums for July 8, 2022

Ways & Means – The Deslondes (New West Records)
Chasing Somewhere – Michelle Rivers (Independent)
I’ll Tell You What’s Gonna Happen – Kimberly Kelly (Show Dog/Thirty Tigers)
Sounds from the Red House – Clint Park (Rainfeather Records)
Highways – Ronny Criss (Independent)
Found Light – Laura Veirs (Raven Marching Band)  
Departure – Lyman Ellerman (Woodshed Resistance)

This week’s list of new albums is an eclectic one, to be sure. We’ve got a little bit of everything. Michelle Rivers brought some bluegrass-tinged country that would be the perfect soundtrack to an evening on the porch with an adult beverage or two. Ronny Criss’ slick blend of country, blues, and rock sounds an awful lot like baby-makin’ music. Then, there’s the new Deslondes record that sits somewhere between country, rock, and R&B. If you’re trying to get up and moving, I’d suggest putting on Ways & Means and letting it play.

Additionally, we’ve got a few new traditional country albums. This week introduced me to some new favorites and I hope you’ll feel the same.

I’ll Tell You What’s Gonna Happen

This is Kimberly Kelly’s major-label debut record and she came out swinging. Honestly, this is the first I’d heard of the Texas native. However, I saw that she included a cover of Billy Joe Shaver’s “Black Rose” on this album and somehow knew it was going to be a good one. It was.

Sonically, Kelly said, “I like to think of it as a sub-genre of country music called ‘country music’.” It’s exactly that. Pure country music. This new album from Kimberly Kelly is top-shelf from the first bars of the album opener “Honky Tonk Town” to the answering machine message from the late Billy Joe at the end.

If you need some good country music in your life, this is the one for you.

“Black Rose”

Departure

Lyman Ellerman is a Tennessee-based singer-songwriter whose sound falls firmly between traditional country and folk music. If you’re a fan of John Prine’s blend of folk and country, you’re going to like Departure. Ellerman packed his new album with songs that will resonate with just about every hard-working American. Overall, there’s an air of positivity that seeps into every song in this collection and it’s exactly what I needed to hear today. Hopefully, you’ll feel the same.

“Common as They Come”

Sounds from the Red House

This may not be a whole album, but the new EP from Clint Park is too damn good to overlook. With roots in both Texas and Tennessee and a father (Johnny Park of Archer Park) in the business, Clint’s country roots run deep. He puts those roots on full display on Sounds from the Red House. If you’re looking for a collection of songs that will make you tap your toes while also pulling at your heartstrings, you don’t want to miss this one.

:Hot on My Heels”