

Spirited fiddle licks, drawled harmonies, brisk banjo plucking providing their twangy songs with momentum: It's fair to say that Nashville crew The SteelDrivers are anchored to tradition. What sets them apart from the throwback-bluegrass pack, however, is frontman Chris Stapleton’s formidable voice. On the band’s debut, his gravel-scarred delivery adds depth to tracks like the chugging lament “If It Hadn’t Been for Love,” while his sustained howl injects rock ’n’ roll fury into “Midnight Train to Memphis.”