Colter Wall has always sounded like he was born in another time. On his new album Memories And Empties, the Saskatchewan troubadour with the ageless voice doubles down on that vintage spirit for a record that could have just as easily spun from a dusty jukebox in 1973 as it will from a turntable today. Recorded live at Nashville’s legendary RCA Studio A with his road-worn band the Scary Prairie Boys, Memories And Empties is Wall at his purest. Across ten tracks, co-produced with longtime friend Pat Lyons, Wall threads together stories of heartbreak, distance, and redemption, all anchored by a baritone that sounds snatched from the prairie wind.

The lead single, “1800 Miles,” is a lonesome traveler’s anthem that rolls like a freight train under an open sky. There’s fire in the performance, but also tenderness, the range of a man who’s seen his share of roads and regrets. Throughout the album, hints of western swing and old-school honky-tonk peek through, giving songs like “One More Round” and “Ain’t Enough Whiskey” a timeless barroom feel.

Wall’s approach on Memories And Empties recalls the golden age of country music, an era of Merle Haggard and Lefty Frizzell, where the storytelling came first and the studio stayed out of the way, only there to capture it all. By recording live, he uncovered the raw interplay between musicians; the creak of a steel guitar, the shuffle of boots keeping time. It’s the vibe of a band that’s lived these songs long before the tape started rolling.

Despite his growing popularity, Wall remains refreshingly grounded. His songs aren’t about furthering his own myth, they’re here to keep the flame of traditional country alive without turning it into a museum piece. There’s real honesty in that goal, a belief that the old ways still hold power. It’s about who Colter Wall is, where he’s from, and why his songs hit like a shot of whiskey at last call. And it’s a story worth telling.