Rainbow country
The Western Civilization A 2024 Pride playlist from the country side GREGG SHAPIRO | Contributing Writer GreggShapiro@aol.com Neon Cross, the second album by queer country diva Jaime Wyatt, was one of the best releases of 2020.
Produced by Shooter Jennings (son of country music royalty Waylon Jennings and Jessi Colter), the album was as country as could be.
Now Wyatt has returned with her third full-length release, the irresistibly soulful Feel Good (New West). There is an audible sonic shift, beginning with the album opener “World Worth Keeping.” Wyatt, who maintains her country twang and vocal lilt, incorporates a funky, Stax Records vibe on the previously mentioned song, as well as on the title tune, queer love song “Love Is A Place,” “Hold Me One Last Time,” “Jukebox Holiday” and the Grateful Dead cover “Althea.” Amelia White (Photo by Jon Karr Lorena Lopez) Produced by fellow Nashville resident and music legend Kim Richey, Love I Swore (31 Tigers), is another fine effort by independent queer singer/songwriter Amelia White.
The 11 songs focus on the rockier side of country, although the Nashville energy radiates loud and clear on “Nothing I Can Do,” “Beautiful Dream” (featuring duet vocals by Ben Glover), the bluesy “Get To The Show,” the fabulous vintage country echo of “Can You See Me Now” (featuring Richey) and the pleasingly rhythmic “Lost Myself.” Creekbed Carter (Gar Hole) by trans folk artist Creekbed Carter Hogan is such an exemplary effort that, at only eight songs in length, listeners might find themselves reduced to begging for more.
