A full-length debut wiser and gruffer than the upstart’s 21 years. Blake Whiten is the latest in a crop of young country upstarts to find an audience by doing things his own way. The big-voiced 21-year-old singer-songwriter from the tiny town of Six Mile, South Carolina (population 678), first grabbed listeners in 2024 with covers of songs like Morgan Wallen’s “I’m the Problem” before dropping original music of his own, which quickly led to the release of his 2025 EP, Six Mile, an earnest and deeply felt collection featuring fan favorite “Rollin’ Stone.” This full-length debut picks up where Six Mile left off, as Whiten turns in a dozen painstakingly heartfelt songs in the vein of Kameron Marlowe or Sam Barber. Whiten’s gruff, weary performance on “This Bar Is My Friend” makes you forget that he’s barely even of drinking age, a feat he pulls off on other tunes like the heartache ballad “Ghost House” and the star-crossed “Night N’ Day.” Whiten co-wrote each track and assembled an ace roster of co-writers for the LP, including Bailey Zimmerman and Hunter Phelps.