Colter Wall

In a genre where the thorny question of authenticity always seems to be looming ominously on the horizon, Colter Wall knows full well that he can drive on into the sunset without any trouble. Few artists feel as ruggedly and rustically country as Wall, who grew up in the remote sparsity of Saskatchewan, Canada.

Some voices in modern country trickle down your speakers with the smooth, warming sweetness of a Spanish brandy, while others pack the kick of a Fireball shot. Colter Wall’s weary, baritone growl, on the other hand, feels more like a slug of neat, high-proof moonshine. His 2015 debut project, Imaginary Appalachia, was an acoustic-driven traditionalist dream, staying rigorously loyal to Old West themes and imagery throughout.

Both Wall’s 2017 self-titled follow-up and his 2018 album, Songs of the Plains, avoided any temptation to build his sound out in a bid to gain the ears of more mainstream listeners. As much of his music betrays, there is a recurring sense of displacement for Wall, who portrays himself as operating outside of the modern country landscape and in his own, timeless patch of sonic terrain. Ironically, it is this anti-contemporary approach that has situated Colter Wall at the forefront of the country music zeitgeist.

In 2022, Wall released Western Swing & Waltzes and Other Punchy Songs, a title that leaves no room for ambiguity as to the stylistic emphasis of the record. Wall’s absorbing, weather-beaten vocals meander along deliberately, like an old tumbleweed rolling through the Wild West, and they seem to embody Wall’s determination to march steadfastly to the beat of his own drum. The inclusion of a variety of classic covers, from Marty Robbins to Stan Jones, on this daring, self-produced offering accentuates Colter Wall’s position in a liminal space between traditional and trailblazing.