Country Universe
@countryuniverse.net
The longest-running country music blog (f. 08.2004).
www.countryuniverse.net
www.countryuniverse.net
Continuing the storied tradition of GOP's ghoulish WH Press Secretaries posting food horrors on main.
Never forget:
Never forget:
November 29, 2025 at 6:58 PM
Continuing the storied tradition of GOP's ghoulish WH Press Secretaries posting food horrors on main.
Never forget:
Never forget:
TOR, W TX Degenerate (**): Compared to a Hank III or DBT, there is a real and just kind-of sad artlessness to the ways these songs wallow in underclass clichés w/o any sense of reflection, insight, or empathy. It scans as posturing. The badly AutoTuned vox are somehow even more off-putting.
November 29, 2025 at 5:26 PM
TOR, W TX Degenerate (**): Compared to a Hank III or DBT, there is a real and just kind-of sad artlessness to the ways these songs wallow in underclass clichés w/o any sense of reflection, insight, or empathy. It scans as posturing. The badly AutoTuned vox are somehow even more off-putting.
J. O'Neal, Flowers & Fireflies (EP)(***): One of many victims of country's post-Chicks purge of women, O'Neal has long deserved better than she got. The songs on this EP aren't on the level of her biggest hits, but she still sounds fantastic here, moving capably across pop- and trad-country styles.
November 29, 2025 at 5:21 PM
J. O'Neal, Flowers & Fireflies (EP)(***): One of many victims of country's post-Chicks purge of women, O'Neal has long deserved better than she got. The songs on this EP aren't on the level of her biggest hits, but she still sounds fantastic here, moving capably across pop- and trad-country styles.
Haunted Like Human, Am. Mythology (****): This duo's best album yet is a studied, hyperliterate collection of poetry set to unfussy and lovely country-folk song structures. Their gifts for melody shine, as do their exquisite vocal harmonies. This could so easily skew pretentious but never does.
November 29, 2025 at 5:17 PM
Haunted Like Human, Am. Mythology (****): This duo's best album yet is a studied, hyperliterate collection of poetry set to unfussy and lovely country-folk song structures. Their gifts for melody shine, as do their exquisite vocal harmonies. This could so easily skew pretentious but never does.
T. Herndon, Thirty: Vol 1 (***): Re-records tracks from his solid career as duets with a (mostly) quite game cast of collaborators. He's in fine voice throughout and sounds particularly attuned to Rimes, McBryde, and Fairchild & Cotten. Nothing essential here, but it's always good to hear him again.
November 29, 2025 at 5:13 PM
T. Herndon, Thirty: Vol 1 (***): Re-records tracks from his solid career as duets with a (mostly) quite game cast of collaborators. He's in fine voice throughout and sounds particularly attuned to Rimes, McBryde, and Fairchild & Cotten. Nothing essential here, but it's always good to hear him again.
M. Carper, A Very... (****): It really and truly is. What a testament to her confidence in her artistry that she can carry her inimitable personality and voice through a collection of mostly original tunes that are funny and poignant and so very Carper. She's a treasure.
November 28, 2025 at 7:28 PM
M. Carper, A Very... (****): It really and truly is. What a testament to her confidence in her artistry that she can carry her inimitable personality and voice through a collection of mostly original tunes that are funny and poignant and so very Carper. She's a treasure.
B. Paisley, Snow Globe Town (**1/2): A couple of originals w his signature wit and guitar-work ("That Crazy Elf (On the Shelf)" is the highlight here), but this is mostly giving I Owed The Label One More Album To Run Out My Contract and feels phoned-in as his star continues to wane.
November 28, 2025 at 5:50 PM
B. Paisley, Snow Globe Town (**1/2): A couple of originals w his signature wit and guitar-work ("That Crazy Elf (On the Shelf)" is the highlight here), but this is mostly giving I Owed The Label One More Album To Run Out My Contract and feels phoned-in as his star continues to wane.
OCMS, OCMS XMAS (***1/2): A spirited effort, for sure, even if not all of the originals here hit their marks the whole way through. Still, it mostly works as a change of pace within the usually stuffy genre of Christmas music, and it gives off the vibe of a jam session.
November 28, 2025 at 5:47 PM
OCMS, OCMS XMAS (***1/2): A spirited effort, for sure, even if not all of the originals here hit their marks the whole way through. Still, it mostly works as a change of pace within the usually stuffy genre of Christmas music, and it gives off the vibe of a jam session.
T. Yearwood, Christmastime (****): Exquisite. One of the all-time greatest vocalists fronts a full orchestra on a cleverly curated mix of originals ("Years," a holiday update of "House That Built Me," is the highlight) and less-common covers, set to effective lite-jazz-leaning arrangements.
November 28, 2025 at 5:40 PM
T. Yearwood, Christmastime (****): Exquisite. One of the all-time greatest vocalists fronts a full orchestra on a cleverly curated mix of originals ("Years," a holiday update of "House That Built Me," is the highlight) and less-common covers, set to effective lite-jazz-leaning arrangements.
T. Rich, Poppy & Iris (**): Fifteen years ago, this would've gotten Hot AC airplay alongside DAUGHTRY, whose vocal timbre and aggressive competence Rich shares. Combining two earlier 2025 releases, this shows an inability to self-edit, though this is all of uniformly "fine enough" quality.
November 26, 2025 at 2:48 PM
T. Rich, Poppy & Iris (**): Fifteen years ago, this would've gotten Hot AC airplay alongside DAUGHTRY, whose vocal timbre and aggressive competence Rich shares. Combining two earlier 2025 releases, this shows an inability to self-edit, though this is all of uniformly "fine enough" quality.
T. Turner, Good Hearted Woman (****1/2): Restored from the "Tina Turns the Country On" recording sessions, and daresay this makes for an even more cohesive and singular statement than her proper solo debut. Her rock, funk, and soul influences figure prominently in the arrangements, performances...
November 26, 2025 at 2:21 PM
T. Turner, Good Hearted Woman (****1/2): Restored from the "Tina Turns the Country On" recording sessions, and daresay this makes for an even more cohesive and singular statement than her proper solo debut. Her rock, funk, and soul influences figure prominently in the arrangements, performances...
I have now seen the most unhinged Tyler Childers take.
November 26, 2025 at 12:40 AM
I have now seen the most unhinged Tyler Childers take.
V. Mason, There I Go (***): The latest Pledge Week Country guy sounds like the John Mayer of Parker McCollums. The asthmatic vocals strike me as an affectation to mask what would probably be too *pretty* a natural vocal tone for the current market. Production here is better than many of his peers.
November 25, 2025 at 9:09 PM
V. Mason, There I Go (***): The latest Pledge Week Country guy sounds like the John Mayer of Parker McCollums. The asthmatic vocals strike me as an affectation to mask what would probably be too *pretty* a natural vocal tone for the current market. Production here is better than many of his peers.
L. Majcen, Makin' A Livin'... (****): Impresses for how his ability to be funny on purpose never once undercuts the poignancy or heft of his modern underclass narratives. The surface read is as a shitkicker, but there's a real sensitivity and razor-sharp intellect underneath. His best yet.
November 25, 2025 at 8:36 PM
L. Majcen, Makin' A Livin'... (****): Impresses for how his ability to be funny on purpose never once undercuts the poignancy or heft of his modern underclass narratives. The surface read is as a shitkicker, but there's a real sensitivity and razor-sharp intellect underneath. His best yet.
Snocaps, s/t (****1/2): Opens as a glorious, note-perfect homage to 90s Modern Rock radio and ends as what sounds like a great new Waxahatchee record. Meaning that I have zero interest in debating the semantics of how "country" it is and will simply claim it outright. Tremendous work by all parties.
November 25, 2025 at 8:17 PM
Snocaps, s/t (****1/2): Opens as a glorious, note-perfect homage to 90s Modern Rock radio and ends as what sounds like a great new Waxahatchee record. Meaning that I have zero interest in debating the semantics of how "country" it is and will simply claim it outright. Tremendous work by all parties.
W. Nelson, Workin' Man... (***1/2): Of his stellar current run of albums, this is perhaps the first that I wish he'd recorded back in his prime vocal era. His aged voice doesn't add to these Hag covers the way it does to much of his recent output. Still, a lovely tribute from one titan to another.
November 25, 2025 at 8:13 PM
W. Nelson, Workin' Man... (***1/2): Of his stellar current run of albums, this is perhaps the first that I wish he'd recorded back in his prime vocal era. His aged voice doesn't add to these Hag covers the way it does to much of his recent output. Still, a lovely tribute from one titan to another.
A. Wilson, Stars (**1/2): More convincing on this faith-forward set than on her debut as a would-be Music Row "Rebel" last year, she still lacks a POV that makes any of her songs distinctive-- every narrative and emotional beat here is telegraphed-- and still needs to rein in that untamed vibrato.
November 25, 2025 at 8:10 PM
A. Wilson, Stars (**1/2): More convincing on this faith-forward set than on her debut as a would-be Music Row "Rebel" last year, she still lacks a POV that makes any of her songs distinctive-- every narrative and emotional beat here is telegraphed-- and still needs to rein in that untamed vibrato.
L. Bell, King Is Back (****1/2): It's all too much, really, in every sense. The 28 tracks here would have been served slightly better had they been bifurcated into a couple of standalone records, though the reasons for not doing that certainly make sense on a human level.
November 24, 2025 at 5:05 PM
L. Bell, King Is Back (****1/2): It's all too much, really, in every sense. The 28 tracks here would have been served slightly better had they been bifurcated into a couple of standalone records, though the reasons for not doing that certainly make sense on a human level.
This was the point that I literally slammed my phone down so hard on my desk it cracked the screen protector:
November 24, 2025 at 2:31 PM
This was the point that I literally slammed my phone down so hard on my desk it cracked the screen protector:
M. Staples, Sad & Beautiful World (****1/2): She could so easily rest on her laurels, but she continues to push herself and her art ever forward. Always w a focus on justice at both individual and societal levels, she keeps on singing with a clarity and resolve that few have ever matched. Essential.
November 23, 2025 at 7:36 PM
M. Staples, Sad & Beautiful World (****1/2): She could so easily rest on her laurels, but she continues to push herself and her art ever forward. Always w a focus on justice at both individual and societal levels, she keeps on singing with a clarity and resolve that few have ever matched. Essential.
K.S. Collins, Flight Risk (****): W a strong POV as a writer and, significantly, as a co-producer, Collins foregrounds independent agency throughout these songs. She matches that perspective to a rock-edged (Church, McBryde) aesthetic that fits her raspy contralto. A killer and yes, risky debut.
November 22, 2025 at 8:25 PM
K.S. Collins, Flight Risk (****): W a strong POV as a writer and, significantly, as a co-producer, Collins foregrounds independent agency throughout these songs. She matches that perspective to a rock-edged (Church, McBryde) aesthetic that fits her raspy contralto. A killer and yes, risky debut.
B. Mehldau, Ride... (***1/2): I love that Mehldau's taking inspiration from the work of a modern folk icon like the late Elliott Smith. The arrangements here highlight the sturdiness of-- and lean into the fundamental melancholy within-- Smith's compositions. An appropriately understated tribute.
November 22, 2025 at 7:59 PM
B. Mehldau, Ride... (***1/2): I love that Mehldau's taking inspiration from the work of a modern folk icon like the late Elliott Smith. The arrangements here highlight the sturdiness of-- and lean into the fundamental melancholy within-- Smith's compositions. An appropriately understated tribute.
D. Burrow, The Way... (***1/2): A collection of down-home country blues that would do Ray Wylie Hubbard (one of several great guests here) proud, this set is perhaps just a little too textbook in its formalism, but that's a really a minor quibble when the individual tracks smoke like these do.
November 22, 2025 at 7:39 PM
D. Burrow, The Way... (***1/2): A collection of down-home country blues that would do Ray Wylie Hubbard (one of several great guests here) proud, this set is perhaps just a little too textbook in its formalism, but that's a really a minor quibble when the individual tracks smoke like these do.
A. Cooke, ace (**1/2): For a moment, she seemed like she was getting some mainstream traction, but there's not really anything here that's likely to build upon that. The writing and production lack any distinct identity, and she works just well enough in a limited vocal range. Forgettable.
November 21, 2025 at 8:35 PM
A. Cooke, ace (**1/2): For a moment, she seemed like she was getting some mainstream traction, but there's not really anything here that's likely to build upon that. The writing and production lack any distinct identity, and she works just well enough in a limited vocal range. Forgettable.
V. Gill, 50Y... Secondhand Smoke (EP)(**1/2): Does it matter that one of country's current elder statesman recorded a set that's mostly Normie Liberal sentiment? It certainly does. Does that mean the songs themselves are well-written? Let's not get ahead of ourselves. A step down from vol 1.
November 21, 2025 at 8:21 PM
V. Gill, 50Y... Secondhand Smoke (EP)(**1/2): Does it matter that one of country's current elder statesman recorded a set that's mostly Normie Liberal sentiment? It certainly does. Does that mean the songs themselves are well-written? Let's not get ahead of ourselves. A step down from vol 1.