鈥淲hite Trash Revelry,鈥� Adeem the Artist (Four Quarters/Thirty Tigers)
鈥淕oing to Hell,鈥� a banjo-driven romp on the new album 鈥淲hite Trash Revelry,鈥� explains in jest the cause of Adeem the Artist's unspecified musical limitations.
The East Tennessee-based singer-songwriter has considerable gifts, too, and that鈥檚 no joke.
Buzz about Adeem the Artist, who uses the pronoun they, began to build with the 2021 album 鈥淐ast-Iron Pansexual.鈥� Their follow-up is a twangy, tangy examination of gender identity, faith, race and other topics of cultural contestation, offered by a blue-collar troubadour with a biting tenor and sharp wit.
A 鈥渞edneck fundraiser鈥� conducted by Adeem allowed them to start a label and hire a strong supporting cast for 鈥淩evelry,鈥� and the resulting range of musical stylings is wide.
The facetious single 鈥淩un This Town鈥� sounds like a potential rockabilly anthem for too many election campaigns as it skewers the political process. 鈥淧ainkillers & Magic鈥� is a Tex-Mex take on hurt that faith can鈥檛 heal, and the piano ballad 鈥淔or Judas鈥� ponders the power of love and pain of betrayal. 鈥淩edneck, Unread Hicks鈥� addresses the sanctity of marriage to string band accompaniment, while 鈥淗eritage of Arrogance鈥� rocks as it rails against an inheritance of oppression.
Lyrics reference Robert Johnson, Jimmie Rodgers, Johnny Cash, the Louvin Brothers and Charlie Daniels, reflecting Adeem鈥檚 broad musical vocabulary. Limitations aren鈥檛 an issue; 鈥淲hite Trash Revelry鈥� is the bracing work of an artist without boundaries.
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https://apnews.com/hub/music-reviews
Steven Wine, The Associated Press
