Wright, Louisiana native and up-and-coming Americana singer/songwriter Rod Melancon follows-up 2018’s Southern Gothic with his fourth album, Pinkville, a world filled with “shell-shocked war veterans, gun-wielding rock & rollers, and other down-on-their-luck characters, mixing cinematic details and electric guitars into its own version of greasy, gothic Americana.” Pinkville was recorded on analog with co-production by Adrian Quesada (Brownout, Black Pumas) and Will Walden (noted TV composer) who helped polish a very strong set of soulful psychedelic songs, rockers, covers, and odes to icons. Standout tracks include: the angsty southern gothic single “Westgate”; the slow 3/4-time ballad “Corpus Christi Carwash”; a cover of Tom Waits’ “Goin’ Out West”; the self-deprecating rocker “Manic Depression”; the punchy rockabilly tribute to Tom Petty on “The Heartbreakers”; and the lo-fi cover of Springsteen’s “57 Channels (And Nothin’ On)”. Rod Melancon’s Pinkville is easily my favorite album released this year. It’s brimming with energy and life. There is not a bad track on the album; it is a great listen from start to finish. – Written by JFelton
SIMILAR | Daniel Bachman Jerry Garcia, Dave Rawlings Machine, Willie Watson, William Elliott Whitmore