Colter Wall - Imaginary Appalachia (10th Anniversary) [Green]

Colter Wall's Imaginary Appalachia turns ten with this anniversary edition, pressed on green vinyl in a gatefold jacket, celebrating the record that introduced that unmistakable baritone.

Released in 2015, the seven-song debut came from a young songwriter out of Swift Current, Saskatchewan, who somehow sounded like he had been riding freight trains for half a century. There was no polish and no gimmick, just old-time folk and country songs delivered in a deep, gravelly, unhurried voice that made listeners stop and check the credits. It quietly built a devoted audience and set the stage for everything that followed.

Sleeping on the Blacktop is the calling card, a dusty road song that later found its way onto the Hell or High Water soundtrack. Johnny Boy's Bones brings in fellow Saskatchewan outfit The Dead South for a raw, foot-stomping tale, and Caroline features Belle Plaine adding a gentler touch. The Devil Wears a Suit and Tie closes things with a sly warning that still ranks among his sharpest lyrics.

The arrangements are spare, mostly acoustic guitar and that voice, with nothing getting in the way of the songs.

A decade on, the EP still feels like a dispatch from somewhere older than its era, and this green pressing gives longtime fans a handsome way to revisit where the trail began.