Tennessee Jet - The Country (2020)

The Country, Tennessee Jet's third album, nods to that childhood soundtrack. A salute to the sounds of his youth, these songs double down on Jet's country and folk influences, without sacrificing the left-of-center approach that's earned him a reputation as a genre bender. Honky-tonk ballads, twin fiddles, and country two-steps rub shoulders with a Nirvana-inspired rock song (Johnny, a tribute to 1950s legend Johnny Horton) and a bluegrass cover of the Black Crowes' She Talks to Angels. The result is a richly-textured album that's both classic and modern in the same breath. This is raw, truthful country music — a reinvention of the sound that's always formed the bedrock of Tennessee Jet's artistry, even during his most amplified moments.

The Country marks the most collaborative project of Jet's career. A songwriter, frontman, producer, and multi-instrumentalist, he took a do-it-yourself approach to his 2015 debut and 2017's Reata, both of which found Jet playing every instrument himself. The Country references those early years with songs like the autobiographical Stray Dogs, whose lyrics find a young Jet speeding down the Indian Nation Turnpike, his future wife riding shotgun, both of them fueled by a combination of love, truck stop gasoline, and the need to make it to the next show on time. For an album that often pays homage to Jet's DIY past, though, The Country also finds him teaming up with Dwight Yoakam's touring band, whose members add Telecaster twang and Cali-country cool to Jet's raw, ragged edges. Paul Cauthen, Cody Jinks, and Elizabeth Cook all lend a hand, too, duetting with Jet on their respective tracks while also teaming up for an all-hands-on-deck version of Pancho and Lefty. Additional guests include longtime Willie Nelson bandmate Mickey Raphael who lends harmonica as well as Lady Gaga bandleader Brian Newman on Trumpet.