Andrew Gulden

Swamp Dogg Contemplates the Afterlife As he approaches his 84th birthday, Swamp Dogg has run out of time for foolishness. The veteran singer/songwriter’s (aka Jerry Williams, Jr.) 27th album is appropriately titled Swamp Dogg Contemplates the Afterlife. Instead of making a last-ditch effort to pass through the Pearly Gates, though, Williams chooses to focus on the much more earthly (and more practical) goal of making his home stretch something worth celebrating.

Breakfield In the process of reviewing the self-titled album from Breakfield, I went back to listen to their last record, Dusk, released under their previous name, Boy Named Banjo. Dusk struck me as something released by a band exactly in the place Boy Named Banjo was occupying at the time; sleek, uptempo and likable, perfect for opening for bigger established acts.

Bella White A Sign in the Weather Bella White has what I call a hundred-year voice – ancient (by country music standards), yet timeless. That’s her instrument and her gift. What she does with that voice is what makes her music compelling. White’s third full-length album, A Sign in the Weather, follows her from Vancouver Island to New Orleans as she maintains her stream-of-consciousness storytelling while finding the heartbreak, and the good, that comes with change.