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Dean Owens | El Tiradito (The Curse of Sinner’s Shrine) (2023)

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Hot on the heels of 2022’s smash Sinner’s Shrine comes its “little brother”. El Tiradito (The Curse Of Sinner’s Shrine) is a double album (2 CDs in a beautifully designed 6 panel digipak), again featuring members of desert noir icons CALEXICO, and recorded partly at WaveLab Studio, Tucson AZ and partly in various home studios from Tucson to Berlin via Pencaitland.
Disc 1 features songs from the long since sold out Desert Trilogy EPs, while Disc 2 is an all new, all instrumental “theme for an imaginary Western” inspired by the story behind Tucson landmark El Tiradito (the Sinner’s Shrine). Stories of love and lust, sinners and saints, the displaced, the wanderers and the border ghosts. Dean Owens

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Rose City Band | Garden Party (2023)

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Rose City Band’s country psychedelic rock evokes the wide-open spaces of the American west and free spirits who call it home. The project of acclaimed guitarist and vocalist Ripley Johnson, Rose City Band has extended beyond the studio and lives in tandem as a live ensemble featuring some of the finest players in contemporary rock: pedal steel guitarist Barry Walker, keyboardist Paul Hasenberg, bassist Dewey Mahood (aka Plankton Wat) and drummer Dustin Dybvig. Garden Party is a celebration of summer and all it brings: communal gatherings, the respites offered by nature, and an appreciation for even the simplest beauty, from 12-foot sunflowers to a contorted carrot planted in the spring. Freedom, contentment, and joy were the sources for the songs. From the soaring guitar solos, to the driving rhythms, the elegant pedal steel lines to the organ grooves, Garden Party has a live band’s energy captured in exquisite detail.

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Lucinda Williams | Stories from a Rock N Roll Heart (2023)

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Lucinda Williams, a celebrated singer-songwriter known for her powerful storytelling and emotional authenticity is set to release her 15th studio album titled “Stories from a Rock N Roll Heart” on June 30th. This album will follow closely after the release of her highly anticipated memoir “Don’t Tell Anybody the Secrets I Told You: A Memoir” due out April 25th. “Stories from a Rock N Roll Heart” features guest appearances from Bruce Springsteen, Margo Price, and Angel Olsen among others. This album features an all star cast of musicians as well, featuring members of Tom Petty’s Heartbreakers and The Replacements. Throughout her career, Lucinda has been honored with numerous accolades, including three Grammy Awards, a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Americana Music Association and induction into the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame. Rolling Stone describes her as “one of America’s best songwriters.”

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Drive-By Truckers | The Complete Dirty South (2023)

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In 2004 the Drive-By Truckers released what would become the best selling album in their illustrious catalog. The Dirty South is a concept album that examines the state of the South, and unveils the hypocrisy, irony, and tragedy that continues to exist. The album features live show staples like, “Tornadoes”, “Where The Devil Don’t Stay” and “Puttin’ People On The Moon” as well as rarities like “Goode’s Field Road” and “Daddy’s Cup.” The Complete Dirty South is a band-led rework of the original album. Principal member, Patterson Hood, took the reins and reimagined this record as it was originally intended. The complete version features resequenced audio, three additional tracks, four remixes along with updated vocals. The packaging comes with a perfect bound book featuring liner notes from Patterson Hood, track by track descriptions from Mike Cooley and Jason Isbell as well as never before seen photos along with updated artwork from the late Wes Freed. “This ‘Director’s Cut’ is the way it was always intended to be heard” – Patterson Hood

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Magnolia Electric Co. | Sojourner (Vinyl Box-Set 2023)

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Returning from a long time out-of-print and for the first time on vinyl, Secretly Canadian release Sojourner Box Set by Magnolia Electric Co., re-presented via a 4LP collection (April 7).
The Box Set is the accumulated work of thirteen musicians, five locations, four recording engineers and one songwriter, with the four LPs that comprise the set taken from four distinct recording sessions that Magnolia Electric Co. undertook following the release of their debut studio album, What Comes After the Blues.
From those recording sessions, the band’s second album Fading Trails was born. But the four sessions, in full, chart the celestial map of Magnolia Electric Co….

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Dom Flemons | Traveling Wildfire (2023)

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Dom Flemons has built a reputation on presenting 100 years of American roots music, but now, with Traveling Wildfire, his own songwriting prowess comes into the spotlight. Carefully selected from his personal repertoire, these original songs reveal his love of country, western, blues, Americana, bluegrass and folk music as they tell of true love, family legacy, survival, time travel, and the juxtaposition between light and dark. Traveling Wildfire weaves through the themes of hope and humor as it rises above the hard times with strength and lightheartedness. Smithsonian Folkways
With his new album, Traveling Wildfire, Dom Flemons builds on his solo oeuvre and previous forays with The Carolina Chocolate Drops, per usual displaying songwriting savvy, instrumental prowess, and a knack for contemporizing often obscure yet important works. Waltzy opener “Slow Dance With You” would be appropriate fare in a roadhouse bar… No Depression

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Holy Moly and The Crackers | Solid Gold (2023)

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For a band that have from the outset been pegged as ‘folk-rock’, Newcastle’s Holy Moly and The Crackers sure have come a long way in their sound and their approach. They’ve been a fierce live proposition for a decade now and released three studio albums that have seen their songs evolve from festival-friendly folky-stomps to something more widescreen and epic, without losing the raw, punky edge that has won them such a loyal and vocal fanbase. Obviously we know what happened in 2020 and how that stopped the live music industry in its tracks…
But rather than licking their wounds and feeling sorry for themselves, the band decided to use the time to write a very different record, something that really reflected where they are now. The result is Solid Gold, an album that digs deep into the Americana that’s played an ever-greater part in their sound, and is full of the ‘big skies and long roads’… Holy Moly & The Crackers

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Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit | Weathervanes (2023)

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Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit are set to release a new 13-track project, Weathervanes, on June 9, marking the followup to 2020’s Reunions and 2021’s Georgia Blue. “There is something about boundaries on this record,” Isbell said via a statement. “As you mature, you still attempt to keep the ability to love somebody fully and completely while you’re growing into an adult and learning how to love yourself.”
“Isbell is a storyteller at the peak of his craft,” says ESPN’s Wright Thompson, who narrates the video clip. “Observing his fellow wanderers, looking inside himself and trying to understand, reducing a universe to four minutes.  billboard
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The Mavericks – In Time [10th Anniversary Deluxe]

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Arriving March 3 via The Valory Music Co., the re-vamped record includes all 14 original tracks plus never-before-released songs “Tonight Is The Night,” the group’s exquisite take on “Gentle On My Mind,” and a rare conjunto version of “Ven Hacia Mi.” The special anniversary edition album features the original cover artwork available on stunning electric blue vinyl, to celebrate 10 years of the band’s hit comeback record. “We’re thrilled to offer up this special anniversary version with extra tracks and the original album art initially planned before Mark Tucker… udiscovermusic
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