Review Roundup: Joe Troop & The Truth Machine and Charley Crockett 'Age of the Ram'
This week, we've got a roundup of two albums that skew toward the more traditionalist side of the roots music spectrum. The first is a bluegrass/old-time EP from Joe Troop & the Truth Machine, and the second is the latest from country neo-traditionalist Charlie Crockett.
Joe Troop & the Truth Machine- Joe Troop & the Truth Machine
I rarely review EP because there just isn't enough meat on the bone to warrant a full review when an album is only 20 minutes long. But I've been following Joe Troop's career for several years, from the genre-bending international Che Apalache to his solo work to his Americanafest 2025 performance as Larry & Joe. So when I heard about his new bluegrass band The Truth Machine, I knew I had to give it a listen. I wasn't disappointed. Despite its brevity (clocking in at just over 18 minutes), Troop and crew hit on some heavy topics across the album's five tracks, albeit sometimes with tongue very firmly in cheek.
The album's highlight track is album opener “Billionaires.” A humorous look at an apologist for the rich, the song is hilariously overboard, with lyrics like “Billionaires will set us free / They're sent from God / To save a wretch like me.” It just gets sillier from there as Troop hits on everything from trickle down economics to prosperity gospel, all in a mockingly devoted tone. You also have to give credit where it's due. When a songwriter can rhyme “green new deal,” “Stop the Steal,” and “baby, drill drill drill” all in one verse you've got some talent on your hands.
On the other side is the soberingly haunting album closer “Mercy for Migrants.” While not a surprising take from an artist who has always had an international bent to his music, Troop manages to take a topic that has been done a lot over the last decade or so and give it new life with a slow banjo roll, a gospel-like delivery, and simple declarations like “Why aren't we there for each other / Mercy is for everyone.”
Look, I don't do “important” in album reviews. An album can deftly tackle tough political subjects and I'll give it its props, but in the end, there has to be some entertainment value to bring me back to it enough to review. Joe Troop & the Truth Machine finds that balance.
Charley Crockett- Age of the Ram
Charley Crockett is nothing if not prolific. His Sagebrush Trilogy, of which Age of the Ram is the conclusion, all came out in just a few days North of one year. The trilogy's first album, Lonesome Drifter, came out in March of 2025, followed by the Grammy nominated Dollar a Day in August. Now, on April 3, comes Age of the Ram.
Concept albums aren't exactly unknown in roots music circles, but they're not exactly common either. But a concept trilogy? Now that's typically the province of prog rockers and jam bands. But Crockett has shown remarkable songwriting skill in holding the plot together across the Sagebrush Trilogy. Where Lonesome Drifter introduced his protagonist as The Drifter, picking up on Dollar a Day with The Outlaw, and finally on Age of the Ram, we meet Billy McClane, The Rustler.
The album already has two singles dropped, album standout “Fastest Gun Alive” and “Kentucky Too Long.” But there are plenty more single-worthy cuts on this massive 20 song missive. “Me and Shooter” is a fast-paced romp soaked with lyrics about girls who “you ain't really lived until you seen her face,” and bars where it's “always Saturday night.” “I Shot Jesse James” tells the tale of another outlaw whose story crosses Billy McClane's, Jesse James' famed killer Robert Ford. And, while less than a minute long, the George Jones-esque “Powder River” reminds you why Charley Crockett is among the best doing neo-traditional country today.
Not only is the songwriting strong here, the production is as well. Crockett co-produced the album with Shooter Jennings, who knows a thing or two about country traditions. Jennings and Crockett co-produced the first two albums in the trilogy as well, which helps tie them together.
It takes some guts to put out not one but three concept albums in a year, a decidedly non-traditional decision by the man being hailed as the “savior of traditional country music.” But one gets the feeling that Crockett, while certainly honoring traditions, cares less about that moniker than about taking him where his muse draws him. On Age of the Ram, he's followed that muse to a satisfying conclusion to an ultimately satisfying trio of albums.