“Western Soul” - Todd Adelman
Photo Credit: Artist EPK
There’s something timeless and a little bit haunted about Todd Adelman’s upcoming album Western Soul. Not haunted in a spooky sense—more like it’s inhabited by ghosts of all the great American songwriters who came before. It’s a fourteen-track truth serum for a country that's a little busted up right now but still has soul, grit, and stories worth telling. This record doesn’t scream or preach. It listens. It watches. Then it leans in and whispers the real stuff straight from the gut.
Western Soul is exactly what it sounds like—a dusty, warm-hearted, road-worn collection of songs that blend country, rock, and roots in a way that feels both deeply familiar and strikingly new. It’s the kind of record that doesn’t care about trends or algorithms. It’s about people. Pain. Memory. Survival. It’s the slow-burn, late-night conversation version of a protest album—less slogans, more questions; less noise, more soul.
From the opening chords, you can feel that this is a record built to last. There’s no filler here—just song after song that gets to the heart of what it means to be human in a world that often feels like it's on fire. Adelman doesn’t just diagnose the broken bits of The American Dream—he offers a kind of sonic balm, a reminder that truth-telling can be healing.
Recorded in a place called The Woods, a studio Adelman built in the Catskills, the whole album feels alive with history. It’s got that analog warmth that can only come from tape machines and sweat and second takes.
The band are seasoned legends: Danny Blume (who co-produced), Taras Prodaniuk, Doug Pettibone, Jim Christie, and Woodstock royalty like Larry Campbell and John Medeski. The playing is tight but loose, deep but not heavy. There’s space in these arrangements. Room for the songs to breathe. Room for the listener to step inside.
Photo Credit: Artist EPK
Adelman walks in the footsteps of Petty, Kristofferson, Prine—but doesn’t get lost in their shadows. He’s not doing an impression. He’s living it. He’s a storyteller first, a country gentleman with a rock ‘n’ roll soul, someone who understands that the best songs are like old friends—they show up at just the right time and tell you exactly what you needed to hear.
There’s no flash here. No gimmicks. Just honest-to-God songwriting, delivered by someone who’s spent enough time chasing ghosts in studios and smoky bars to know when a real one shows up. He’s the kind of artist who listens for the song that’s trying to be born and knows when to hit “record” before it slips away.
And Adelman’s not stopping with just Western Soul. He’s already got a band, The Woodsmen, that’s ready to go back into the studio. That kind of drive? That’s what happens when you live and breathe music—not just as craft, but as connection. For him, making a record is making family, even if it’s just for a few days. That energy—the mix of reverence, trust, and mutual discovery—is all over Western Soul.
Western Soul is one of those albums that doesn’t need to shout to be heard. It pulls you in gently, tells you some hard truths, and leaves you with a little more hope than you had before you hit play. It’s American music at its most sincere—worn denim, coffee black, heartbreak and redemption wrapped up in a voice that’s lived some miles.
So go ahead. Spend an hour with Todd Adelman. Whether you’re driving down a long highway, nursing a whiskey, or sitting on a porch watching the sun go down, Western Soul will find you. It’ll feel like you’ve heard it before. That’s how you know it’s a good one.
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