Reba Mcentire - Stronger Than The Truth (2 LP)

Stronger Than the Truth -- the 33rd studio album from Reba McEntire and the first of secular material since 2015's Love Somebody -- kicks off with "Swing All Night Long with You," a joyous slice of western swing that functions as a manifesto of sorts: unlike the gleaming Love Somebody, Stronger Than the Truth is a pure, unadorned country album. McEntire delivers on this promise, albeit in her own fashion. While she returns to this hardcore sound on occasion throughout the record -- witness the skipping "No U in Oklahoma," so nimble it could've been part of the Texas Playboys' repertoire -- McEntire sticks to the kind of country that made her a star back in the '80s, emphasizing nuanced ballads and well-rendered narratives. Tempos rarely quicken on Stronger Than the Truth -- apart from the two western swing numbers, there's the gilded confidence of "Storm in a Shot Glass," but not much more than that -- but the album doesn't feel soft or meandering. Thanks to the co-production of Buddy