Notable Releases of the Week

Ohio alt-country singer Arlo McKinley released Die Midwestern, his breakthrough album and his first for the late John Prine's Oh Boy Records, at the height of 2020 lockdown, and now that we're kind of on the other side and Arlo's been touring again, he returns with a followup, This Mess We're In. It was produced by Matt Ross-Spang (Margo Price, Jason Isbell, etc) and made with a band including former Wilco drummer Ken Coomer, Lucero keyboardist Rick Steff, and guitarist Will Sexton, and the album title might make you think it's about the state of the world, but it's actually about issues that are a little closer to home, like addiction and mental health, and the loss of family members and close friends. Arlo cites Nick Drake and Nick Cave as influences on the album, and you can feel those influences melding with Arlo's country tendencies, making for a more somber, melancholic album than Die Midwestern. It's the perfect backdrop for the darker lyrical content, and these are also Arlo's best songs yet. He sounds more distinct than ever on this album, and more somber doesn't mean less accessible; he delivers these personal stories with hooks you can't stop humming along to.

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