Sam Barber
established himself as a country artist to watch with an EP, 2023's
Million Eyes
, that presented his deeply personal songs in simple, straightforward style, with no-frills arrangements anchored by his acoustic guitar. After enjoying breakthrough success with the singles "Straight and Narrow" and "Dancing in the Sky,"
Barber
released his first full-length album, 2024's
Restless Mind
, which at once built on the strengths of his hits and doubled down on the darker side of his music. Filled with songs about bad luck, complicated relationships, and meditations on lives gone wrong,
confirms
has no interest in sweetening his outlook for the sake of success, and the gravity of his stories is reinforced by spare, intimate production and instrumentation dominated by acoustic instruments. A double album that packs 28 songs into 94 minutes,
includes sound bites of his family wondering out loud about the ways
Sam
has changed, adding depth to his lyrics about life lived on the edge. Guest vocals from
Avery Anna
(on "Indigo" and the title track) and
Lily Fitts
(on "Stopped in Hell") add different textures to the songs without dulling the impact of
's performances. At a time when country and pop music seem to be following similar paths,
is a defiant, heartfelt message from a songwriter with no fear of bearing his soul and letting his rough edges show. ~ Mark Deming