“Oh Me Oh My” by Lonnie Holley

An atmospheric alternative gem from earlier this year, with the kind of soul that stretches to the cosmos.

To fully appreciate the power of Oh Me Oh My, you should know a bit about Lonnie Holley’s background. A product of punishing Jim Crow-era discrimination and poverty in Alabama, he made a name for himself as a socially conscious visual artist, specializing in sculptures depicting the horrors of his world. He didn’t release a proper debut album (2012’s Just Before Music) until he was 62 years old. Now, at 73, he brings us a stark, striking portrait of struggle and survival in America that’s also one of the year’s best albums.

To call this a work of experimental alternative music would be to put this LP in a box it doesn’t deserve. Like all deeply personal artistic statements, it defies categorization by transcending common tropes and penetrating into the tiniest corners of your soul. He tells authentic stories that paint haunting pictures of ghosts most US citizens would like to ignore or forget. Take the track “Mount Meigs,” which reconciles with the despicable history of the titular juvenile corrections facility (one recently likened to a slave plantation) in his home state. But, despite the subject matter, this record is far from a pity party. Holley is quick to sidestep oversentimentality in favor of hard-earned defiance. He persisted. He’s still here. That subversion is felt throughout the album, from the muscular “I Can’t Hush” to the quieter, more tender “Kindness Will Follow Your Tears.” And it does all of this without losing any of its approachable, accessible exterior.

It doesn’t matter how long it takes you to make a classic. What matters is you make one that’s as good as this.