Cody Jinks - Blacksheep (2013)

With his smooth baritone and lonesome, dark-hued country songs, Cody Jinks evokes classic styles from outlaw country to classic Southern rock. A native of Haltom City, Texas, Jinks spent the early part of his career fronting the Fort Worth-based thrash metal outfit Unchecked Aggression before returning to his country roots and recasting himself as a honky tonk balladeer in the late 2000s. Beginning with 2010's Less Wise, Jinks issued a handful of independent releases, touring heavily with his backing band, the Tone Deaf Hippies. His first chart success came with 2015's Adobe Sessions, which was named after the Adobe Room at Tornillo, Texas' Sonic Ranch studio where it was recorded. The album peaked at number two on Billboard's Heatseekers chart, bringing Jinks into wider mainstream exposure. Returning to Sonic Ranch, he recorded his follow-up, I'm Not the Devil, which jumped to number four on the Billboard Country Albums chart upon its release in August 2016. Less Wise (Modified), a remixed and remastered version of his 2010 debut, arrived the following year. ~ Timothy Monger