Randall King Leanna (CD)

(Warner Nashville) 4 tracks

One of the new country traditionalists, King has never lived outside the endless plains of West Texas - and his sound is steeped in their timeless beauty, at once gritty and graceful. He grew up singing in the back of a '93 Chevy Suburban, mimicking the pure country vocals of stars like Keith Whitley, George Strait, Alan Jackson and John Anderson. Over the years, he was drawn to the electrifying energy of modern stars like Eric Church, Dierks Bentley and Jason Aldean. After years of work and a touring diet of 150 shows a year, King produced and released the defiant EP Another Bullet in 2016 and followed it up with a self-titled album in 2018. Now produced by traditional torchbearers Bart Butler and Ryan Gore (Jon Pardi), King brings an organic, timeless sound to the country mainstream, with steel guitar, open vocals and punchy, hard-rocking rhythms. With his music capturing the essence of a Western poet who was never afraid to be himself, he looks to a future that leads anywhere.

Leanna marks his first collection release since signing with Warner Music Nashville in 2018, following tracks Burn It At Both Ends, Hey Cowgirl, White Christmas Makes Me Blue, She Gone and most recently Run Run Rudolph, all of which have contributed to his 40 million career streams. To go along with the EP, King has released the stunning music video for the track Around Forever. The song is about "loved ones and taking the time to see them before they're gone," says King: "I didn't know at the time that meant my sister. It was a harsh reality when I went back and played that song for the first time shortly after her death. She was everything to me, and I know I'll never be the same without her. So heed the song's warning and take the time to do it."