2022's best Nashville albums (so far), with Hailey Whitters, Jack White, Luke Combs and more
As we somewhat unbelievably approach the halfway mark of 2022, one thing is clear about the current state of Music City: It’s been a banner year for newcomers. And we’re not talking about California transplants.
No, we’re looking at our list of standout albums released by local artists in the past six months. Even with an avalanche of releases by established stars ready to get their post-pandemic album cycles on, quite a few of our favorites of ’22 are breakthrough efforts by on-the-rise acts. But there’s still room for a reinvigorated Jack White, a newly soulful Luke Combs and more.
”See who joined them, and the likes of Hailey Whitters, Coin, Erin Rae and ERNEST, below.
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49 Winchester, 'Fortune Favors the Bold'
The most excellent recent argument for keeping the Exit/In open forever comes from Bristol, Virginia-based 49 Winchester's "Fortune Favors the Bold" single "Damn Darlin'."
Your favorite country star's favorite band's new album is as unflinchingly earnest in describing '90s era honky-tonk heartbreak as they are extolling the virtues of living life debt-free with a "real good woman" and a house-broken dog.
A sextet thriving at the intersection of Lynyrd Skynyrd and the Band is appreciated by Luke Combs, Brent Cobb and Joshua Hedley. If that's not a cause for taking a second to pay attention, then nothing else in country music is, either. – M.K.D.
The Black Keys, 'Dropout Boogie'
Hot off the heels of blues passion project "Delta Kream," Nashville rock staple the Black Keys keeps a freewheelin' groove and steady flow of monster hooks on new LP "Dropout Boogie."
Start at "Wild Child" – a booming taste of throwback rock topped by an earwormy Dan Auerbach chorus – and stay for "Baby I'm Coming Home," the groovin' garage rock track that lives up to this album's apt "Boogie" title.
Released in time for a scorching Tennessee summer, it's the back patio beer-drinkin' album that should remind listeners how much fun this band can be. – M.L.
Zach Bryan, 'American Heartbreak'
The year's splashiest country album to date doesn't come from a polished Music Row hitmaker or clean-cut Nashville upstart. Instead, Zach Bryan takes that crown.
Oklahoma's modern man of the people penned 34 songs (!!!) for his Warner Records debut "American Heartbreak." While a triple-album track list may be daunting, Bryan at his best captures an untamed restlessness and blurry-eyed angst that magnetically endears the singer – a former Navy sailor – to a largely young, impassioned and quickly growing audience. – M.L.
Coin, 'Uncanny Valley'
A full decade after forming as students at Belmont University, this Nashville rock trio continues to sharpen its pop songwriting and expand its vast sonic arsenal.
The otherworldly twists of “Uncanny Valley” give them a new edge: “Chapstick” finds a winning recipe with bristling electric guitar, a slinky disco groove and the slacker delivery of frontman Chase Lawrence (who's certainly not slacking during the band's energetic, tech-enhanced live show).
Fans of Harry Styles’ “Harry’s House” will find a lot to latch onto here, and if the stars align, Coin seems within spitting distance of a mainstream breakthrough. – D.P.
Luke Combs, 'Growin' Up'
Released days before The Tennessean's mid-year list, "Growin' Up" finds Luke Combs – the reigning CMA Entertainer of the Year – dipping his toe into new creative spaces.
He adopts a soulful swing on new single "The Kind of Love We Make" and shines as country music's mighty-voiced storyteller on "Doin' This." But no track stands out like Miranda Lambert duet "Outrunnin' Your Memory," one of the finest in Combs' catalog to date. – M.L.
ERNEST, 'Flower Shops (The Album)'
In an era where trap bangers and crowd rockers highlight so much of the mainstream country marketplace, ERNEST's "Flower Shops (The Album)" is a stunning return to country music's traditional essence.
The wailing steel guitar and earworming chorus of the album's title track have yielded Nashville's current songwriting kingpin country radio and pop-crossover success as a solo artist.
Dig deeper into his album and tracks like "Comfortable When I'm Crazy," "Feet Wanna Run" and "Tennessee Queen" give this record the cinematic sense of a time-worn James Dean love story refreshed for the modern era. – M.K.D.
Erin Rae, 'Lighten Up'
The third album from this Nashville-raised singer-songwriter might be her best yet. Made in California with producer Jonathan Wilson, its serene sound has been likened to the sweet, slightly psychedelic folk-pop that coursed through the Laurel Canyon and beyond in the late '60s and early '70s.
"I'm making candy and curry, and a friend in the mirror," she croons on the opener, over a soft bossa nova-inspired groove.
"I am seeing things much clearer than before/ I am wishing I hadn't taken you for granted/ I am needing you more than ever, that's for sure."
Largely written during the pandemic, the introspective songs of "Lighten Up" first came into bloom in the studio, and they’re proving to flourish on stage, as well. – D.P.
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Jo Schornikow, 'Altar'
She’s traveled from her native Australia to New York City to Nashville, where she’s now lived for the past six years – and Jo Schornikow’s stellar sophomore album is an entrancing encapsulation of her journey thus far.
The indie-rocker – who also plays in Phosphorescent, led by her partner Matthew Houck – weaves a unique bed of lazy strums, hazy synths and cracking, insistent drum beats.
On standout “Visions” – sounding like a distant cousin of Fleetwood Mac's "Dreams" – she sings about pushing past bad omens and making your way back home. Nashville is lucky she’s found one here. – D.P.
Cole Swindell, 'Stereotype'
"Stereotype," Cole Swindell's fourth album, making a list of the best Nashville albums of the first half of 2022 should not be considered a surprise. He has 10 No. 1 singles on country radio in under a decade.
However, four years and a myriad of life evolutions have matured the Georgia native. Thus, singles like the Jo Dee Messina-sampling "She Had Me At Heads Carolina," No. 1 Lainey Wilson collaboration "Never Say Never," and the album's title track reflect a leveling up of both songwriting and vocal performance. One can expect this album to be a significant success for the resurgent country standout. – M.K.D.
Molly Tuttle, 'Crooked Tree'
On her new album "Crooked Tree," Molly Tuttle embraced bluegrass – and we're here for it. On the album, this bandleader and prodigious flatpicking guitarist teams the bluegrass sounds that raised her with a songwriting fit for today's music heroes.
She weaves tales of empowered women ("She'll Change"), marijuana outlaws ("Dooley's Farm," featuring Billy Strings) and outlandish adventures ("Nashville Mess Around") – and, again, we're here for it. – M.L.
Jack White, 'Fear of the Dawn'
“What’s the trick?” Jack White bellows over and over again on the raucous track of the same name – from his first solo album in four years. Well, in one respect, we’d say the dude’s got it figured out.
After venturing further out than ever on 2018’s divisively experimental “Boarding House Reach,” Nashville’s resident rock star has struck the perfect balance between searching for new sonic frontiers and giving his fans the clobbering, riff-fueled rock they crave.
From the painstakingly gritty opener “Taking Me Back,” to the closing track, no guitar tone, drum sound or vocal effect is stock. Twenty-five years in, White continues to reengineer a genre that’s rarely shaken up these days. – D.P.
Hailey Whitters, 'Raised'
Nearly 15 years into living in a 10-year town, Shueyville, Iowa, native Hailey Whitters appears via "Raised," her fourth album, to be on the cusp of stardom.
This year found her evolving to a peerless standard in her craft (she was a Grammy-nominated co-writer for Alicia Keys and Brandi Carlile's duet ballad "A Beautiful Noise") and simultaneously more human and direct than ever. "Everything She Ain't" and "Boys Back Home" are as small-town local as they are universally relatable.
Releasing an album in March that blossoms to radio in June, has a hit by September and is in the running for year-end honors by December is likely. – M.K.D.