Orville Peck: Mule (indie exclusive, translucent vinyl) [WARNER NASHVILLE]

Why you'll love it

The indie exclusive translucent vinyl pressing of the country singer's fourth album, which he has called his most personal yet. Jay Joyce produced it, and Emmylou Harris, Noah Cyrus and Allison Russell all appear on the opening "Prologue."

This edition

Indie exclusive
Translucent vinyl
Thirteen songs, seven on Side A and six on Side B

About the album

Orville Peck arrived in 2019 behind a fringed mask and a voice that could have stepped out of a 1960s Nashville studio, and he has been reshaping country music ever since. After the star-studded duets of Stampede, Mule takes him back to his own songs, and he describes it as the most deeply personal album he has made. He reunited with Jay Joyce, who produced Bronco, and the sound is rich and cinematic, full of steel guitar, strings and wide-open space. The arrangements leave room for every word, and the stories he tells are some of his best.

"Prologue (Eulogy of a Man Turned Mule)" sets the stage with help from Emmylou Harris, one of his heroes, alongside Noah Cyrus and Allison Russell. "Big Ol' House" and "Already Gone" have the swagger fans love, "Too Little, Too Late" and "Cowboy Heart" are gorgeous heartbreakers, and the title track closes things on a reflective note. His baritone has never sounded better. Lonesome cowboys, your soundtrack has arrived, and it comes on a very fetching translucent disc.