Album Review: Rayland Baxter - ‘True Violet’

One of my favorites Rayland Baxter returns with his latest effort True Violet this week. The record is one rooted in change for the Tennessean, as it’s the first release the artist created since the loss of his father. The album heavily focuses on Baxter’s signature easy going vocals that are always pitch perfect. Baxter knows just what to do when it comes to his vocalization, never putting too much or too little into them, he knows what a track calls for. The vocals pair perfectly with his mix of Americana, country, and soulsy melodies.

Baxter struggled with writing this one as he was dealing with heartbreak, loss, and change. It was a conversation with his sister that pushed him to lean into his emotions and write how he felt. Even though he approached this effort with a hyper critical ear, he managed to enter the studio with 70 demos. “Up and Down a Mountain” is a winner on True Violet, as Baxter uses his vocals and accentuates them with some bluesy guitar work and a great accompaniment of a female vocalist who’s soul tinged effort matches the effort to a T.

Though he wrote the record in solitude with his emotions, the production of True Violet was definitely collaborative as he worked with Paul Butler and Nick Waterhouse and the recording took place in about a year’s time. I also appreciated the twang Baxter pushes in “What a Day My Friend” as it has some great acoustic work.

Baxter continues to show why he’s one of the best out there when it comes to blending genres and doing what needs to be done to achieve a sound that you can just drift away to. Baxter stated he expressed emotions in colors on this effort with reds for anger and blues for sadness. With that in mind, the album felt gold to me in its sound. It’s warm and has a flair of the vintage to it. If you’re into easy going sound with a sprinkle of blues, you’ll love True Violet.

Rating - 8.5/10