Friday, December 14, 2018

Ken's Best of 2018 - #3: Sarah Shook & The Disarmers - Years

Last year Sarah Shook & The Disarmers's Sidelong was my #2 album of the year. This year, their album Years is my #3 album. It says a lot for one artist to land in my top 3 two years in a row, but such is my love of Sarah Shook & The Disarmers. Years is a tiny bit more polished than it's predecessor, but ever so slightly. No one out there is doing country punk better than this group nowadays. It's such a raw sound that hearkens back to classic country without being a throwback at all. Normally when a band cleans up their sound and gets a little less raw I'll be that guy and whine and complain. Sure, I missed the rawness of Sidelong on my first listen of Years. But that didn't last long at all. Shook is an amazing songwriter, and with Years that is what shines through. Sarah Shook & The Disarmers are one of the rare bands I root for being as huge as they can be. True country fans will love this, but unfortunately most country fans want to hear songs about not wearing shoes or raps about a pick up truck. For those of us that prefer this sound, Years is basically perfect.

Songs of note: "New Ways to Fail," "The Bottle Never Lets Me Down," "Damned If I Do, Damned If I Don't."

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