Jamey JohnsonThat Lonesome Song

A gray veil of cigarette ash hangs over the whole record, the ghosts of honky-tonk legends heavy in the room. "In Color" aches quiet and tender, a grandson reading his grandfather's black-and-white photos until they bloom. "High Cost of Living" goes dark and unflinching, a slow narrative of addiction sung straight into the dirt. Johnson's deep, buttery baritone over bare-bones backing. One of the purest country records out of Nashville in years.