Henry Mancini - The Henry Mancini 100th Sessions: Henry Has Company (2024)

Lauren Watkins is the real deal. Part of a new class of country that's not trying to be pop, along with artists like Megan Moroney and Hailey Whitters, the genre is ingrained in her soul. A Tennessee native discovered by songwriter Nicole Gallyon ("Tequila" by Dan + Shay, "Priscilla" by Miranda Lambert) after college, she shot out of the gate with the excellent single "Fine Country Line" in 2023. Watkins already has a signature: the well-worn gravel rasp that belies her 24 years. It works so well on songs like "Shirley Temple," a swaying country waltz written with Gallyon, about the type of girl who is "everything I'll never be": "She don't cause a scene/ She don't cry in bars/ She won't touch nicotine ... and she kinda talks/ Just like your mama/ And that's the cherry on top." With the twang and steel guitar removed, "Leavers Leave"—recalling Deana Carter-era '90s country—could be a great pop hit. But Watkins is pure country. You can hear the same magic that lit up Kacey Musgraves' Same Trailer Different Park on songs like the smart, dusky ballad "Settling Things" and Texas two-step-ready "Sad Songs And You." Yet the artist Watkins most often evokes in song and spirit is Miranda Lambert. Catchy "Mama, I Made It"—as in, life is a mess and she's the one who made it that way ("I took his Babe Ruth baseball, put it right through the drywall/ Couple years' worth of picture-frame glass up and down our hall")—shines with that honky-tonk sass and outlaw country vibe. Watkins drowns her sorrow à la Lambert on "Heartbroken Record," which takes all the classic country elements—heartbreak, jukebox, "same old bar, same old whiskey"—but makes them feel vital and fresh. "Set My Heart on Fire" is big and infectious and features Sheryl Crow: pretty big bonafides for a debut album. It would be easy to say that Big Loud, Watkins' label and management, is putting the big guns, including producer Joey Moi (Florida Georgia Line, Morgan Wallen), behind her. But you don't get this many impressive features unless people want to be part of your success. Co-writer Ashley Monroe lends harmony on the easy-rolling "Pretend You're Coming Home," Carter Faith shows up for "Cowboys on Music Row" and Jake Worthington duets on heat-seeking ballad "Fly on the Wall." "Stuck in My Ways" is a summertime country rocker inspired by Crow, and "Jealous of Jane" is a spitfire. And "Gatlinburg" is an infectious and fun banjo-driven number about escaping heartbreak and fleeing to the Smoky Mountain town ("poor man's paradise") that's full of airbrushed T-shirt shops, moonshine tasting rooms and pancake kitchens. © Shelly Ridenour/Qobuz