Editor's Picks 9/4: Chris Housman, Brittany Ann Tranbaugh, Bryan Ruby
Every week, Rainbow Rodeo editor Rachel Cholst picks three of her favorite albums from the past week – some new, some older, all the best queer country. This week features deep groves and deeper lyrics, lucky broke girls, and hopeless romantics.
Chris Housman – Dodge City
On Dodge City, Chris Housman delivers exquisitely smart country music and a testament to who he is. Taking advantage of his ten-year overnight success, Dodge City tells Housman's story with warmth but also an anger that is just slightly under the service. There's no song here that isn't danceable – but the lyrics hit deeper than the infectious grooves. "Up and Down" is, in my opinion, a classic that will live on in the queer country canon, and "Cowman" is as queer and as country as it gets. Those more intimate moments, like "CryBaby" and "Straighten Out This Bender" show Housman's deft craftsmanship as well as his all-too-rare ability to write vulnerable lyrics to galvanizing music: to the dance floor, or to confront yourself. "Crossroads" stands out as a fantastic duet with our pal Angie K.
Brittany Ann Tranbaugh – Lucky Broke Girl
I often preface my comments about Brittany Ann Tranbaugh as one of the hardest-working musicians I know, and the fruits of her labor blossom beautifully on Lucky Broke Girl. This collection chronicles the fractures in Tranbaugh's life as she turned her attention to music full-time: divorce, loss of friendships, financial precarity, gross guys online. That uncertainty can break anyone – I'd argue it's breaking all of us right now – but Tranbaugh puts things in perspective here: she arrived at this point on her terms, and so many relationships and adventures have opened up to her since then. "(So What If I'm Not) Conventionally Attractive" is as awesome a roots rocker as any, but the triumphant gang vocals will elicit many a guffaw. Meanwhile, tender songs like "Wissahickon" and "For Caroline" (co-written with Carsie Blanton) bring Tranbaugh's warmth to the fore – encouraging us to count our blessings, because we always have more than a few.
Bryan Ruby – Playing With Fire
Bryan Ruby intended Playing With Fire to be the soundtrack to your summer: all of the feelings that come up when kicking it at a kegger. Listening to it a few months after its release, with summer turning to fall, that sense of optimism and acknowledgement that all things are fleeting hits a little bit harder. But Ruby is, at heart, a hopeless romantic, and this EP plays out the least likely story – that the chance glance and passing touch lead to something much, much more.
