Nashville singer/songwriter Jeremy Ivey had already enjoyed a long and comfortable career as a sideman and collaborator before making his solo debut with 2019's charming The Dream and the Dreamer. In a reversal of roles, Ivey's wife, country phenom Margo Price, stepped into the producer's chair and acted as de facto sidewoman to his twangy careworn missives, amiable introspections, and gently psychedelic romps. Having broken the frontman seal, Ivey made quick work of his follow-up, returning just one year later with Waiting Out the Storm, a sonic sibling to his debut that thematically sees him wading into the fray of politics and social concerns. On the surface, his low-key retro-leaning folk-rock seems an unlikely fit for a current-events record, but this incongruity works to his advantage as he sidesteps some of the more overt soapboxing of modern protest music, coming across instead like another weary bystander just trying to make sense of a world in chaos. Although Ivey's attacks on racism, religion, and governmental failings -- particularly on songs like the hard-charging "Hands Down in Your Pockets" and "White Shadow" -- come with the necessary barbs, his songs tend to feel more observant than indicting, even when he's addressing his subjects directly on the standout "Tomorrow People." Often he sounds more disappointed than angry, and the underlying tenderness he conveyed on his first album comes across here, too. He even finds a place for humor on the playful gospel-blues cut "Things Could Get Much Worse," which features some nice call-and-response vocals from Price. Regardless of the thematic angle, Ivey approaches his music with intelligence and heart, serving up concise views of both the inner and outer worlds on this very likeable sophomore set. ~ Timothy Monger, Rovi

1		Tomorrow People
2		Paradise Alley
3		Movies
4		Hands Down In Your Pockets
5		White Shadow
6		Things Could Get Much Worse
7		Someone Else's Problem
8		Loser Town
9		What's The Matter Esther
10		How It Has To Be