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Rachel Parker<\/p>\n
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By now, we know Charley Crockett does whatever the hell he wants. That includes surprise dropping a new record called Clovis<\/em> on Tuesday night. But though the outlaw country musician has become known as a prolific artist<\/span><\/a> (Clovis<\/em>\u00a0marks his sixth LP released since 2024 and his\u00a0<\/span>17th overall), we didn\u2019t expect two<\/em> albums just weeks apart.<\/p>\n Earlier this month, the San Benito, Texas, native \u2014 though we\u2019re proud to claim him as one of our own through his long roots in North Texas \u2014 released Age of the Ram<\/em>, the final installment of his Sagebrush Trilogy<\/em>, a series of concept albums. In our track-by-track breakdown of Age of the Ram<\/em>, we lauded his penchant for raw storytelling<\/a>, noting \u201cthere\u2019s a fearless honesty in every arrangement, lyric and beat as Crockett\u2019s work showcases a master storyteller at work.\u201d<\/p>\n Don\u2019t expect a serving of more of the same on Clovis<\/em>, though. His \u201cno filler\u201d approach takes the latest record in a different direction, one that\u2019s less settled into the soft pensiveness found in the rolling hills and more road-warrior anthemic. <\/p>\n The album, which boasts 14 tracks and features co-production from frequent collaborator Shooter Jennings, feels like a course turn onto brighter, sunlit Texas backroads. \u201cDown by Law\u201d is laced with funk-tinged riffs and a bouncy hook. Elsewhere, \u201cEagle and the Crow\u201d follows the same buoyant polarity of the record\u2019s predecessor as Crockett sings, \u201cI am a song and dance man\/I got just what you need.\u201d To be sure, he\u2019s once again very much creating his own world here. The instrumental title track sounds like it could score an old Western tale set just before the turn of the 20th century.<\/p>\n