Soon the holiday season will get in full swing, and whether you’re looking for gift ideas or needing to soundtrack a long day of errands, Nashville musicians have your back. The Scene’s music writers have eight new recommendations for you. Add ’em to your streaming queue or pick them up from your favorite record store. Bandcamp, the sales-and-streaming platform much-loved by musicians and fans alike, continues to struggle in the wake of being sold off by its parent company. Some of our picks are also available to buy directly from the artists on the platform, whose Bandcamp Friday promotion — in which the company waives its cut of sales for a 24-hour period — returns on Dec. 1.
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Chuck Indigo, If You Know, You Know… (Indigo Child)
On his latest EP, standout rapper Chuck Indigo is in a more reflective mood than on his albums Indigo Café and No Moor Bad Days. Don’t take that to mean he’s any less thoughtful and incisive as he takes stock of the challenges of tending to all the parts of your life that need attention: relationships, ambition, spiritual sustenance whether from religion or not. No track really outshines another on this 12-minute release. But closer “’94 Baby,” with a feature from fellow Nashville native Brian Brown, includes an affirmation of the importance of music as creative expression that hits close to home. STEPHEN TRAGESER
Find If You Know, You Know... on your favorite streaming service via this handy link and follow Indigo on Instagram for updates.
Gwen Levey and the Breakdown, Not the Girl Next Door (Go Long)
Gwen Levey punches through the morass of her life on Not the Girl Next Door. This is a hard-driving country-rock EP that finds Levy taking control and reveling in it. The five songs chronicle her realizing that partying hard with people who don’t care about your feelings is not the way (“Toxic City”), and guides us straight through to loving forgiveness (“The Next Lifetime”) and embracing yourself (“Not the Girl Next Door”). The EP closes with “Barefoot and Pregnant,” a retro-country banger that mocks the repeal of Roe v. Wade. This arena-ready collection cements Levey as an artist to keep an eye on. RACHEL CHOLST
Find Not the Girl Next Door on your favorite streaming service via this handy link, and follow Levey on Instagram for updates.
Cidny Bullens, Little Pieces (Kill Rock Stars)
Cidny Bullens has been on quite a roll this year, making national headlines with his powerful new memoir TransElectric: My Life as a Cosmic Rock Star. Little Pieces could be seen as something of a companion piece to the book, exploring Bullens’ journey of perseverance and transformation since coming out as transgender in 2012 with songs like “Gender Line” (featuring Rodney Crowell) and “Call Me by My Name.” But Little Pieces — a thoughtfully remastered repackaging of his 2020 self-released album Walkin’ Through This World — stands on its own, with rocking guitars and introspective lyrics. Add in the tender new single “Not With You,” written and recorded by Bullens with pal Beth Nielsen Chapman, and you have a potent collection that balances heartache with an unmistakable sense of hope and healing. AMY STUMPFL
Spoken Nerd, Magical Powers (Invisible Library)
Nashville hip-hop’s most endearing goofball Spoken Nerd returns with his signature irreverent, nostalgic backpack rap. Nerd’s production and writing are taut, and his punchline poetry more energetic than ever — the horn vamp on “Bicycle Anthem,” the John Carpenter creeper stabs in “Secret Door” — creating a hyper-referential kaleidoscope of pop culture. Nerd’s storytelling has reached new levels: His small-town narratives are detailed and evocative on songs like “Getting Kicked Out of Church” and “Trying Beer for the First Time.” Posse cut “The Beast” is another highlight, featuring longtime collaborator Ceschi and old-school Nashville homie 24/7. SEAN L. MALONEY
Quiet Entertainer, Theme Music (self-released)
Between this album and Spoken Nerd, it’s almost like a Cafe Coco reunion up in here. Quiet Entertainer is a longtime producer and performer and host of Body Movin’ at The Cobra. His Theme Music LP showcases his keenly developed sense for moving the crowd while indulging his unique creative worldview. With hip-hop propulsion and a synthesist’s approach to sound design, Theme Music feels like both classic ’90s trip-hop and its ’70s inspirations. Whether QE is channeling Tangerine Dream’s guitar-solo era on “Possibility” or classic Illadelph Halflife vibes on “Cosmic,” Theme Music has what you need for your main-character moments. SEAN L. MALONEY
Find Theme Music on your favorite streaming service or pick up a copy via Quiet Entertainer's website, and follow him on Instagram for updates.
Alex Miller, Country (Billy Jam)
While still in his teens, Alex Miller already enjoyed national prominence, making it onto the American Idol stage two years ago. There’s added maturity in his voice and depth in his tunes as he continues the masterful juggling act of balancing a classic technical approach with a contemporary vision. His sound reflects a love of country’s cornerstone artists like George Jones and Loretta Lynn, just two among the many whose work he absorbed while carefully listening to their music growing up in Kentucky. Standouts on the current release include songs Miller co-wrote himself, such as “Every Time I Reach for You” and “Puttin’ Up Hay,” a testament to his growth as a writer when placed alongside contributions from veterans like Jerry Salley. Miller once entertained thoughts of a career in professional baseball, but the consistent excellence of Country proves he made the right choice. RON WYNN
Pick up a CD of Country or find it on your favorite streaming service via this handy link, and follow Miller on Instagram for updates.
Lou Ridley, Hellhound (self-released)
On Hellhound, Lou Ridley works through everything she survived to get out of Texas: authoritarian preachers, abusive lovers and the guilt of leaving it all behind. There’s an unmistakable twang to Hellhound, not just in the way Ridley elongates her vowels. But the music soars beyond barrooms with sweeping orchestral arrangements and sound-bites of fiery sermons that make the listener feel claustrophobic and weak. This EP packs a punch, and it will force you to pay attention to Ridley and her future work. RACHEL CHOLST
Find Hellhound on your favorite streaming service via this handy link, and follow Ridley on Instagram for updates.
The Shindellas, Shindo (Weirdo Workshop/Thirty Tigers)
Sonically, girl-group-inspired R&B trio The Shindellas’ second LP takes a high-fidelity trip into the territory of Forever Your Girl, Rhythm Nation 1814 and Funky Divas. And that’s reason enough to recommend at least one listen to, well, anyone with a pulse. What’ll keep you coming back are the songs. Some explore intimacy in romantic relationships — both emotional (“Think of Me”) and physical (“Juicy”). A major standout is “Last Night Was Good for My Soul,” about how important it is for your well-being to maintain close relationships with friends. STEPHEN TRAGESER
Find Shindo on your favorite streaming service or at your favorite store via this handy link, and follow The Shindellas on Instagram for updates.
