First Listen: Randy Houser, 'Magnolia'
Randy Houser imagines and inhabits a blue-collar, tortured soul character with some of the most expressive performances of his career.
Fair or not, the generalized complaint about country music's men has long boiled down to the perception that they're lightweights — unimpressive singers who make music with low emotional stakes but get by on their good-timing approachability. Randy Houser has always been among the notable exceptions, a performer in the tradition of 's, Hank Williams Jr.'s, Travis Tritt's and Brooks & Dunn's merging of roadhouse blues muscle and swing and honky-tonk grit. Houser introduced himself as a recording artist in 2008 (before that, that showcased the supple robustness of his voice.
