Adeem The Artist’s 2022 White Trash Revelry was a beautifully effective exercise in blending classic country sounds with progressive and inclusive ideals making for a remarkable record. Its follow-up, Anniversary, is just as compelling.
Musically speaking, the tracks here at time sound like any other song that could be played on country radio, but lyrically they (Adeem identifies with they/them pronouns) rarely shy away from talking about gender and sexuality in refreshingly frank ways. “One Night Stand” sounds very much like a ‘90s Pop Country love song, but with queer protagonists (and you thought The Chicks pissed off those uptight country radio DJs…). They are also not afraid to touch the other third rail of country music, tackling race on the subdued, but powerful album closer “White Mule, Black Man”.
Elsewhere on the sweet “Rotations” they sings about how limited time is with your kids, while “Socialite Blues,” which boasts an admirable horn section, he digs in deep to Piedmont Blues. But it’s the more rock focused “Nightmare,” flipping the freedom narrative asking those on the religious and political right to imagine if they were treated the way they treat those who are gay, where the album hits its zenith. Lyrically and musically, it’s a triumph and quite possibly the best thing they have written across all three of their records.
Working with producer Butch Walker – a musician in his own right who has worked with everyone from Pink and Frank Turner to Taylor Swift – they are able to build on those first two records adding in horns and fuller production for some of the songs here and then pairing down to a minimalist intimate guitar and vocals elsewhere, all the while keeping Country and Americana as the key touchstone throughout. Adeem’s admiration for Walker goes back more than a decade as they recall listening to Walker’s solo album Sycamore Meadows constantly. “I was a Christian worship pastor and having all these doubts. The religious questioning and soul searching Butch was doing on that record was so important for me.”
Adeem will spend the next few months on the road supporting both Tyler Childers and Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit throughout the summer.
