Talking About: Lauren Alaina's New Album, 'Road Less Traveled'

Upon hearing Lauren Alaina's lead off single to her newest album, Road Less Traveled, I didn't have a ton of high hopes. Sure, the message was good, but the lyrics were a little reliant on cliches to drive the point across, and the production was absolutely way too cluttered (thanks busbee).

But then I heard her new album actually was pretty good, and after hearing it multiple times, I'll be damned - it is. I won't sugarcoat it, this is pop-country, and depending on your stance on pop's place in country music, this may or may not be for you. For me though, I always like seeing this sub-genre churn out quality music, and I believe this album does that.

Sure, there are some unfortunate low points that creep up at points on this record. "Next Boyfriend"'s lyrical flow is too jarring for me, and once again, busbee's production techniques shine through in the wrong way like they did in the lead single. Also, "My Kinda People" plays things a little safe overall to really work for me. It's not bad necessarily, after all, Lauren has the pipes to really at least give it some flavor, but it still rings as too safe and non-eventful to really capture any sort of mood for me.

Talking About: The Infamous Stringdusters' 'Laws Of Gravity'

Who? - The Infamous Stringdusters, based in Charlottesville, Virginia. The band is comprised of Chris Pandolfi (Banjo), Andy Hall (Dobro), Andy Falco (Guitar), Jeremy Garrett (Fiddle), and Travis Book (Double Bass).

Album Release Date/Producer? - January 13th, 2017 / Billy Hume along with the band themselves

Genre? - Contemporary Bluegrass, Country, Folk

Opinion On The Act's Discography Overall? - After sampling their earlier albums prior to listening this along with fully listening to their last release, 2016's Ladies and Gentlemen, I wish I had found them sooner. They are a great band, and I like their sound a lot. If there are Country acts out there who are truly “evolving” the genre with their work, The Infamous Stringdusters are doing the exact same thing for Bluegrass. As such, this was probably my most anticipated album of 2017 at the time that I wrote this.


Where Might Other People Know This Act From? - Their last album, 2016's Ladies and Gentlemen featured a ton of artists such as Lee Ann Womack, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Aoife O' Donovan, Sarah Jarosz, and many more, so if you were fans of any of those artists you might have checked them out before. Otherwise, they've been at it for almost a decade now so anyone who is a fan of Bluegrass most likely has heard of them.