The Daily Swarm

No Depression:

1. Buddy & Julie Miller – Written in Chalk
2. Avett Brothers – I and Love and You
3. Neko Case – Middle Cyclone
4. Tom Russell – Blood and Candle Smoke
5. Dave Alvin & the Guilty Women
6. Wilco – Wilco (the Album)
7. Justin Townes Earle – Midnight at the Movies
8. Chuck Prophet – Let Freedom Ring
9. Steve Earle – Townes
10. Guy Clark – Somedays the Song Writes You
11. Slaid Cleaves – Everything You Love Will Be Taken Away
12. Sam Baker – Cotton
13. Son Volt – American Central Dust
14. Eilen Jewell – Sea of Tears
15. Rosanne Cash – The List
16. Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit – Self-titled
17. Levon Helm – Electric Dirt
18. Dave Rawlings Machine – A Friend of a Friend
19. John Doe & the Sadies – Country Club
20. Drive-By Truckers – The Fine Print
21. Joe Henry – Blood From Stars
22. Gurf Morlix – Last Exit to Happyland
23. Magnolia Electric Co. – Josephine
24. Kris Kristofferson – Closer to the Bone
25. Zoe Muth & the Lost High Rollers – Self-titled
26. Andrew Bird – Noble Beast
27. Willie Nelson & Asleep at the Wheel – Willie & the Wheel
28. Deer Tick – Born on Flag Day
29. Drivin’ and Cryin’ – Great American Bubble Factory
30. Gary Louris and Mark Olson – Ready for the Flood
31. Booker T. & MGs – Potato Hole
32. Lyle Lovett – Natural Forces
33. Richmond Fontaine – We Used to Think the Freeway Sounded Like a River
34. Alela Diane – To Be Still
35. Carolyn Mark & NQ Arbuckle – Let’s Just Stay Here
36. Israel Nash Gripka – New York Town
37. Loudon Wainwright III – High, Wide and Handsome: The Charlie Poole Project
38. Todd Snider – The Excitement Plan
39. Wayne Hancock – Viper of Melody
40. Cracker – Sunrise in the Land of Milk and Honey
41. Lucero – 1372 Overton Park
42. Monsters of Folk – Self-titled
43. Caroline Herring – Golden Apples of the Sun
44. John Fogerty – The Blue Ridge Rangers Rides Again
45. Radney Foster & the Confessions – Revival
46. Handome Family – Honey Moon
47. Amanda Shires – West Cross Timbers
48. Built to Spill – There Is No Enemy
49. The Gourds – Haymaker
50. A.A. Bondy – When the Devil’s Loose

No Depression Buddy & Julie Miller’s album review:

It’s tough for me to review Buddy & Julie Miller’s new album Written In Chalk outside of the context of their larger body of work, which includes five Buddy solo albums, two Julie solo records (not including her previous Contemporary Christian albums), and a self-titled duo album. Though Written In Chalk is only their second co-billed album, everything with the Miller name on it since Julie’s last CCM album Orphans & Angels has more or less been a joint effort, with Julie providing much of the songwriting muscle and Buddy handling the production and guitar duties. Every single one of these albums have been recorded in the living room setting of their home studio, with a stable of hyper-talented musicians who have become a tightly-knit extension of the Miller family….

The couple’s harmonies are as natural and instinctive as those of Gram Parsons and Emmylou, a comparison that has been made many times over. Buddy’s instinct for classic country and Southern soul music somehow combines with Julie’s witchy-woman persona to create something entirely their own. In many ways, Buddy’s no-frills sensibilities run counter to Julie’s naturalistic imagery, but they always manage to meet each other halfway. They sing Appalachian ballads with as much conviction as they do a Pops Staples tune. One generally assumes that making records requires a certain amount of ego, but if the Millers have any, it’s difficult to detect. There is guilelessness to their records that belies the sheer amount of talent on display.