The 17 Best Southern Albums of 2017

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The 17 Best Southern Albums of 2017

Puxico
Natalie Hemby

An album named after a tiny town in Missouri, with songs about tradition and gossip, could easily drift into clichéd territory. Not for Natalie Hemby, who has made a career in shaking up those narratives, penning hits for the likes of Miranda Lambert and Little Big Town in the process. The secret is in the details: Hemby plucks small moments, like summers working the IGA checkout, or holding hands at the homecoming parade, and uses them to conjure a deeper magic.

Essential Tracks: The album’s ambling opener, “Time-Honored Tradition,” and the nostalgia-tinged “Lovers on Display.”