Jobi Riccio - “For Me It’s You”

SXSW 2024 - OEB Score: 7; Popularity Index: 3

Pairs Well With…Margo Price, Kacey Musgraves, Nikki Lane

Beautiful country ballads embellished with bluegrass instrumentation, Jobi Riccio’s Whiplash sounds timeless, slide guitars and Western phrases transporting the listener to an old place and time. While reverential, this isn’t necessarily a throwback record, finding threads of pop and rock on tracks that even jam a bit at the right moments. Her songwriting with rope-tight, personal and relatable while studied in classic country patterns. This is what you want to hear when you think Nashville, comfortable and comforting country rock that goes down easy. For the keen ear, there are some nice details in Whiplash’s production that take us outside the standard country zone, a trait that hopefully continues as Riccio is just getting started off this fully formed debut. (Kevin McStravick)