Fall has arrived, and while there’s an abundance of great live music to keep you busy, the flood of excellent records from Nashville musicians never stops. The Scene’s music writers have 12 new recommendations for you, so add ’em to your streaming queue or pick them up from your favorite record store. Some of our picks are also available to buy directly from the artists on Bandcamp. The Bandcamp Friday promotion — in which the platform waives its cut of sales for a 24-hour period — will return Oct. 4.
Blvck Wizzle, Skoot Muzik (self-released)
Just like Dewey Cox, Blvck Wizzle has to think about his whole life before he gets onstage. It’s fitting because the singer, rapper and electric guitar wizard brings so much to the table, in his contributions to Six One Trïbe and his solo work. His new six-track EP proves the point from the jump, but my personal favorite is “Spaceships in Preston Taylor,” whose slinky groove, gnarly guitar work and Afrofuturist theme put me in mind of P-Funk as filtered through Outkast’s lens. STEPHEN TRAGESER
Find Skoot Muzik on your favorite streaming service, and follow Blvck Wizzle on Instagram for updates.
Kevin Gordon, The In Between (self-released)
On his masterful seventh studio album, roots-rock singer-songwriter Kevin Gordon reminds us why he is so admired by his songwriting peers. Produced by guitarist Joe V. McMahan, The In Between features 10 powerful songs that lyrically explore “all that old Southern shit.” In “Marion,” Gordon remembers a restaurant in Monroe, La., where he worked as a teen: “I washed dishes with a Black man full of rage / I was too white to see his cage.” Ranging from blues rock and country rock to Southern soul and early rock ’n’ roll, the music matches the lyrical mood in ways that will give you chills. DARYL SANDERS
Maggie Rose, No One Gets Out Alive (Big Loud)
Maggie Rose continues the reinvention she started with 2021’s Have a Seat on No One Gets Out Alive, a stellar showcase for her blend of rock, soul and R&B. “Dead Weight” roars with grit, while “Under the Sun” lures you in with a gentle Rumours-esque groove, only to reveal a bittersweet sting at its core. “Too Young” and “Vanish” showcase her emotional range as she effortlessly shifts between delicate vulnerability and controlled intensity. Rose’s vocal strength is undeniable, but her confidence gives the album its real glow. JAYME FOLTZ
Find No One Gets Out Alive at your favorite record store or on your favorite streaming service, and follow Rose on Instagram for updates.
Woundflower, Misery (self-released)
There’s been a brilliantly executed resurgence in ultra-fast bands in Middle Tennessee. Woundflower, a new trio made up of local scene veterans, continues the tradition, perfecting their unique take on the “noise, not music” ethos. Isaiah Rodriguez, J. Weilburg and Ross Winchel have done time in underground metal militias like Bled to Submission, Option Anxiety and Gnarwhal. But Woundflower’s debut cassette has a much broader spectrum than most of their death-grinder brethren, evoking fully realized emotion and pulling variegated sonic textures from the knob-twisting industrial music scene. P.J. KINZER
Gillian Welch and David Rawlings, Woodland (Acony)
Gillian Welch and David Rawlings have been making magic together for nearly three decades, and they show no signs of slowing down. Their latest record, named after the historic Woodland Sound Studios they have owned for years, exists beyond the bounds of time. It sounds like a mountain holler’s siren song, calling us all home. Their voices have never sounded better together, twisting between hypnotic strings and keys. This is the sort of music that brings generations together, harkening to things long gone and things yet to come. Start with “Empty Trainload of Sky” and get lost on a journey to nowhere in particular, just enjoying the ride. HANNAH CRON
Editor's note: We've updated this post and replaced a previous version of the Welch and Rawlings blurb.
Quinn Hills, Ignore All Previous Instructions (self-released)
“Women like me don’t often live past 35,” Quinn Hills sings on “No One Who I Can Call,” and she sings that because it’s true. Every trans person knows what death is. It lives in our bones; it feeds our nightmares. But when we’re not thinking about death — as Quinn Hills expertly documents throughout Ignore All Previous Instructions — we also desperately want to love, and be loved, and to be accepted for who we are, and to mostly be left alone. And we don’t know why it’s all so impossibly fucking difficult. CLAIRE STEELE
Louis York, Songs With Friends (Weirdo Workshop)
If anyone has a Rolodex of talented friends, it’s Louis York, the genre-defying duo of Claude Kelly and Chuck Harmony. While the band Louis York is relatively new, its two principals are pop and hip-hop heavy hitters, having worked with everyone from Miley Cyrus to Bruno Mars as producers and pens for hire. This sophomore outing, which follows 2019’s ambitious and electrifying American Griots, shows the duo’s impressive musical range, as the pair collaborates with a diverse roster of guest artists — yep, that’s Chris Daughtry, Anthony Hamilton and Jessie J on the same list of credits — without sounding disjointed. Other guests include The Shindellas, whose two LPs were produced by the duo. BRITTNEY McKENNA
Find Songs With Friends at your favorite record store or on your favorite streaming service, and follow Louis York on Instagram for updates.
Styrofoam Winos, Real Time (Sophomore Lounge)
Lou Turner, Trevor Nikrant and Joe Kenkel each have a knack for penning quick-witted, humanistic, unpretentiously poignant gems. Sonically, the three songsmiths (who all have great solo LPs) settle into a contemplative folk-rock-ish amble for most of their second LP as a unit, though they have no problem picking up the pace when appropriate. The songs zoom in on small moments of observation and reflection, while the overarching theme is what these little things tell us about how to live in our perpetually weird, frequently incomprehensible world. STEPHEN TRAGESER
Steve Cropper and the Midnight Hour, Friendlytown (Provogue)
You’d anticipate ace musicianship and sonic firepower from any Steve Cropper LP, and both are in abundance on his latest. Friendlytown is a showcase for the eminent guitarist’s new ensemble, whose ranks also include co-producer, bassist and multi-instrumentalist Jon Tiven, top Music City drummer Nioshi Jackson and soulful lead vocalist Roger C. Reale. But Cropper and Tiven also lined up huge A-list guest stars including guitarist-vocalist Brian May (yes, that Brian May, from Queen) and ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons. May and Reale join forces on the lead single “Too Much Stress,” which features crackling lead guitar exchanges between May and Gibbons while Cropper displays his legendary expertise in the art of rhythm guitar. RON WYNN
Find Friendlytown at your favorite record store or via this handy link, and follow Cropper on Instagram for updates.
The Shitdels, Where’s Your Head? (Big Neck)
Impressively, garage-punk trio The Shitdels’ latest collection of budget-rock stunners suits Big Neck Records — a long-running label that’s issued crucial music by the likes of Lost Sounds, The Tyrades and Sonny Vincent. Highlights of the no-filler Where’s Your Head? include kooky psych-rock freakout “Bash Your Head In” and the trippy yet tenderhearted “All I Wanted Was You.” Jordan Wayne (guitar, vocals) formed The Shitdels almost a decade ago with his wife Katelyn after the couple moved here from Memphis. Nowadays, Jordan’s joined live and in the studio by two key figures in Nashville’s small but mighty garage-punk scene: bassist Kiley Wells (Part Time Filth) and drummer Ryan Sweeney (The Sleeveens). ADDIE MOORE
Andrew Combs, Dream Pictures (Andrew Combs/Missing Piece)
On his 2012 debut album Worried Man, Texas-born singer Andrew Combs channeled Townes Van Zandt-style songcraft on tunes like “Come Tomorrow.” Combs has expressed admiration for Van Zandt, Guy Clark and Mickey Newbury, but the songwriting on Combs’ latest LP Dream Pictures reminds me of Bread’s David Gates and sunshine pop in general. Cut with drummer and co-producer Dominic Billett and steel-guitar player Spencer Cullum, Dream Pictures is a variation on ’70s soft pop that drifts in minimalist singer-songwriter space. The title track might be the record’s most striking example of Combs’ deft approach to pop-folk songwriting. Dream Pictures never overstates its case, and Combs remains a subtle — and underrated — songwriter. EDD HURT
Album art: Meadownoise, The Foam Alone
Meadownoise, The Foam Alone (YK)
Two hallmarks of multi-instrumentalist, composer and expert improviser Matt Glassmeyer’s project Meadownoise are his tendency for ingenious and thoughtful experimentation and his appreciation for grooves of all kinds. Those are in effect in a big way on his latest record. The album is also a playful experiment in disrupting the way that streaming isolates listeners. There’s an entry for the LP on Bandcamp, but it’s not the actual album: You won’t hear “The Magnolia” here, but rather a recording of Eve Maret playing her clarinet in reaction to the song, and so on. To get your hands on the real Foam, you must “follow the crumbs.” Start by asking someone who you can guess might have heard it — perhaps send a DM to someone who recorded one of those clips for Bandcamp, or check the Meadownoise Instagram to find out when Glassmeyer is playing and approach him after a show. Are there upsides to frictionless listening? Sure. But Foam is a reminder that music is artistic expression, not just content to be consumed. STEPHEN TRAGESER
