Eric Church

No. 1 Male Vocalist

No. 3 Live Act

No. 5 Songwriter

No. 6 Artist of the Year

No. 7 Single, "Homeboy"

Ronnie Dunn

No. 4 Single, "Cost of Livin'"

No. 5 Male Vocalist

Chuch popped a few overinflated assumptions himself with the drinking tales on his No. 3 album Chief. This isn't the standard-issue fare of tough guys downing shots, but rather the sheepish confessions of a guy who messed up after "Jack Daniel's kicked my ass again last night."

The Church of Country Music

From first track "Creepin' " to closer "Over When It's Over," Eric Church's Chief is darn near flawless. Rarely does an album begin and end as strongly as this one — and catch me so fully upon first listen. To each line he sings, he adds tics and pops, eccentric signatures that could belong to no one else. From the foot stomp to the tongue wag, Eric may have his share of onstage shtick, but isn't that what makes a great showman? There's no boot-gazing during a Church sermon. —Joe Hudak

At first I thought Eric Church's "Homeboy" was either borderline bigoted or borderline brilliant. I'm going with the latter, which isn't to say the former isn't still true. Playing, as they say, the race card even while avowing its color-blindness like a mantra? Yeah, this is country music all right. So is Church's tempering of his provincial and prejudicial sneering with arm-around-the-shoulder, big-brother concern for prodigal sons and parents not long for this world. Especially that. —David Cantwell

What was once pathos and poetry in the insecurities of country music now feels rote and mean. But Eric Church isn't rote and mean, even though his ideas are as retrogressive as the rest. The home he's extolling, that didn't feel like home to the homeboy brother, is at risk, and he knows it. —Frank Kogan

I'm still getting hate mail over two pans of very different acts, but despite the abuse, I stand by both reviews: Mumford and Sons are still the most insufferable act ever to be categorized as Americana, and Church's "Homeboy" single flirts uncomfortably with racial profiling. Neither is exactly malignant within the genre, but both are ham-handed and thickheaded, carelessly embracing the worst impulses of their respective genres. —Stephen Deusner

Country, Politics and Recession

For blue-collar workers, bound to time clocks and bank notices, country music has often served as a healing salve. No other genre has offered such a rich chronicle of the cash-poor and their everyday labor. My two favorite performances of the year explored those often grave experiences. A gritty snapshot of the working class, Ronnie Dunn's spare and unflinching "Cost of Livin' " considers uncomfortable truths that are lost on the corporate fat cats. As he completes yet another job application, the narrator realizes his fate but refuses to admit defeat. Along those lines, a young woman dreams of far-off redemption on Pistol Annies' "Lemon Drop." Taking stock of her personal effects — a broken-down car, dirty second-hand clothes — she tries her best to keep on the sunny side. Her hopeful sermon ends with a quiet amen: "I know there are better days ahead," she sings with a shrug. —Blake Boldt

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