Kevin Broughton’s Top 10 Albums of 2019
I think 2019 was a really good year for songwriting and
debut albums. I’d also note some consensus I had with other FTM contributors; seven of my Top 10
made the critics’ Top 10 as well. And my
list falls on a definitive Lone Star-to-Appalachia axis, with four Texans,
three Kentuckians and one West Virginian winning accolades.
A change of pace, style and life converge in this brilliant
follow up to 2017’s Corners. On this
album it’s all about the lyrics, and the artist is brutally honest in his
self-reflection. The lyrical imagery is reminiscent of Isbell’s Southeastern, and one hopes that
sobriety will have a similarly positive impact on Domino’s career going
forward. Even if Songs From The Exile
is his upper limit, it’s a worthy career-defining effort.
I didn’t cross paths with this album till late in the year,
several months after its release. It’s still in heavy rotation.
Josh Fleming and his rowdy
band of Texas rockers had their wish come true when they inked a deal with
Bloodshot records, then rewarded the label’s faith in them with this tour de
force. It’s an album that combines Fleming’s focused, fiery
storytelling with the raw, rough-edged roots you might hear from Lucero or the
Old 97s. And oh, the fiddles and horns!
It’s counterintuitive that this band self-produced a
masterpiece after having two great
records helmed by all-everything Dave Cobb, but that’s exactly what happened
here. There’s depth and balance to this album, but ultimately it’s a Southern rock record in
the very best tradition of a nearly forgotten genre. “Houston County Sky”
channels The Marshall Tucker Band, and “Little More Money” and “Bad Weather”
are right out of Dirty South-era Drive By Truckers. “Hammer” is a
sultry, swampy reminiscence of early Black Crowes. This album is a triumph, and
long-awaited.
4. Jason Hawk Harris
– Love And The Dark
Bloodshot continues its hot streak of great debut records.
Harris endured an
unimaginable series of tragedies in the few years leading up to this album,
yet managed to emerge with clarity and hopefulness. He’s a brilliant songwriter
who also deserves legitimate Isbell comparisons.
This guy. He writes this generation’s “Sam Stone,” about
every other cut. Born for this time, in this day’s Kentucky. The sad, hard
truth, from the guy who’s been milling it for a good, long while.
Godwin paints a rich and honest portrayal of
his homeland and its people with his debut album. Seneca is a
moving snapshot of life and well-soiled roots in the Appalachian hills, a
backdrop that has given birth to some of the most intelligent and hard-working
people in the country.
7. Kelsey Waldon –
White Noise/White Lines
A tough, touring gal posts up with an album and band that
shows John Prine was right to sign her to O Boy Records. It’s
dreamy and trippy and wonderful, and she’s so full of confidence. Kelsey
Waldon will amaze.
The band’s first full-length album in a decade, it’s a top-4
or-5 in the all-time catalog. Kevn and the band are comfortable in their skin,
three decades in. And Trailer was right to put “Ian MacLagan” in his
top songs of the year.
A couple of things about the fact that all the great Chris
Knight songs sound alike: They all rock, they’re all true. And he only puts
albums out about every five years. Wait. That’s three things. I don’t care. He’s
William Freaking Callahan.
Building on 2016’s Humble
Folks – a fantastic album – this
one is well-enough produced to ask if Flatland might crack the mainstream.
Maybe this could be a “crossover” act that could win converts?
