Moving steadily from their dusty beginnings as a lean red dirt band into a brawny, assured modern Southern rock collective, Southall touches upon a number of classic rock and country traditions in their music without succumbing to nostalgia. The Oklahoma band's facility with roots music could be heard on Southall, the 2023 album that found the former Read Southall Band -- their leader first gained an audience with a stripped-back 2015 debut featuring the viral hit "Why" -- arriving on a heavier, grungified take on Southern rock that felt optimized for the 2020s.
At the heart...