This week’s short on a lot of new album releases but for what it lacks in quantity, it makes up for in Quality. Soulful singer Marc Broussard returns to Vanguard Records for his new release A Life Worth Living, rising newcomer Dustin Craig’s EP Bring On Tomorrow shows promise and Carnival Recordings Derik Hultquist issued a physical copy of his new album Mockingbird’s Mouth. Below is a closer look at these new albums in our weekly rundown of new albums.
Derik Hultquist - Mockingbird’s Mouth (Carnival Recordings)
Hultquist may be one of the best songwriters that’s unknown outside of Nashville. While he has a more Americana vibe to his voice and some of his songs, the songwriting is so precise that Derik is the type of guy who should start earning a larger following. He’s in the Ryan Adams realm of artistry and this third EP from him (following 2012’s Weather Report and Leaning On The Rain) and Carnival Recordings (the label that discovered Eli Young Band and David Nail).
Marc Broussard - A Life Worth Living (Vanguard Records)
The talented Louisiana native has always had music that blended genre lines and A Life Worth Living certainly follows through on that promise. There are songs on the album, like opener “Hurricane Heart” and “Perfect To Me” that would work well on mainstream Country while “Main Ain’t Supposed To Cry” and “Dyin’ Man” show the Soulful Blues side of the man who last recorded an album of soul songs for Vanguard before working with Atlantic Records the past few years. “A Life Worth Living” is another slice of Country storytelling as Broussard sings of his family’s matriarch. There’s a powerful duet called “Another Day” with Genevieve Schatz while “I’ll Never Know” is a beautiful tune written with Country singer/songwriter Darrell Scott. A Life Worth Living may be Marc Broussard’s most consistent album to date.
Dustin Craig - Bring On Tomorrow (TuneCore)
Dustin Craig’s a new singer/songwriter from Middle Tennessee that writes some of the strongest, tightest songs we’ve yet to hear from someone previously unknown. Bring On Tomorrow is a quick six track preview into where the rising talent is going. While we’d have made a few different production choices on opener “Rainin’,” it is still a stellar song of regret about the end of a relationship while “All I Want” is drenched in acoustic guitars and plenty of fiddles. “Trade Places” is ready for radio airplay while “Bring On Tomorrow” and “Whiskey Walking Away” are just waiting for someone like Garth Brooks to come along and cover them. This is a record that traditionalists should be eager to support thanks to the fiddle and steel guitars that are clearly audible in the entire mix (and often the lead instruments).
Jody Lynn - The World’s Out Dancin’ (Playback Records)
A well-known live performer, Lynn finally makes her debut with Playback Records. The 10 tracks featured on The World’s Out Dancin’ include the rising title hit. The songs Jody Lynn — a traditional country singer — shines the most on are tracks like “You’re Not Here To Miss You,” “Praying For Neutral Grould,” and “Love Don’t Even Know My Name.” The sprited “You’re Gettin’ To Me” is also a standout amongst the tracks. The album may not make her a household name in the Maisntream but anyone who is truly looking for traditional Country singers should check out The World’s Out Dancin’.
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