Lyle Lovett 12th of June LP

TAS Rated 4/5 Music, 4/5 Sonics in the September 2022 Issue of The Absolute Sound!

Lyle Lovett returns with 12th of June, his first new album in 10 years. The album is an eclectic collection of new originals and beloved interpretations that will please existing fans while inviting new ones. It highlights the dynamics of Lyle and his Large Band and their singular ability to shift from one genre to the next with uncanny grace. From beautiful acoustic ballads to swinging big band numbers, this record will remind listeners why Lyle is a national musical treasure.

...[A] nourishing experience in addition to an outright good time.

It's inspiring to learn that after Lyle Lovett's 10-year hiatus from recording, his quirky, distinctive style of music still entices. Supported by his longtime Large Band, Lovett revels here in his multi-genre mastery of jazz, swing, folk, and country. Vibrant big band jazz dominates the first half, followed by a shift into ballad mode. Split between seven originals and four covers, the album not only showcases his band's virtuosic versatility but also the eclectic range of his own songwriting prowess... It also must be said that most country singers these days would not kick off their record with an exuberant cover of Horace Silver's 1959 jazz instrumental 'Cookin' at the Continental,' where the Large Band melds the difference between western swing and hard bop just for starters.