Whiskeytown - Pneumonia (25th Anniversary Remastered Edition) (2026) [Hi-Res]

Ryan Adams-fronted North Carolina rock squad Whiskeytown had already dissolved by the time their turn-of-the-millennium opus Pneumonia dropped, making it a spiritually posthumous document, though it had already circulated in bootleg form years earlier. With songs about homesickness and dissolution recorded by a group in the process of tearing apart, even the lighter material here carries a graver undertow: Ethan Johns produced it with a restraint that keeps the focus on the performances, from Caitlin Cary's violin, Adams' voice at its least guarded. 'Don't Wanna Know Why' and 'Easy Hearts' are the ones that sneak up on you, being quieter than the obvious standouts, but sneakily compelling nonetheless. 25 years on and it still carries the wavering but rawing sound of a record which nearly didn't make it out.