Chris Stapleton: Higher is his fifth album in an award-laden eight years

There is something quite special about Chris Stapleton. Some say it is his powerfully emotional voice combined with muscular guitar; others argue that his well-crafted, somewhat retro songs of love, loss and longing just hit the right spot. But, perhaps, it is his ability to travel easily between the twin pillars of popular music in Tennessee, Nashville and Memphis, that sets this 45-year-old Kentuckian apart, allowing him to infuse the stengths of country, southern rock, blues, soul and gospel into his songs.

Higher is his fifth album in an award-laden eight years. Once again it is a model of relatively understated craft tastefully executed and once again he is supported by his wife and musical partner, Morgane, the producer Dave Cobb and Stapleton’s small band, more or less the same crew that was aboard for Traveller, his 2015 debut and breakthrough album. The overnight success followed about 15 years of paying dues, including writing songs for others.

For the 14-track Higher, Stapleton ignores the United States’ febrile politics, though there is an oblique reference on Trust. His oeuvre can be broadly divided into two camps: passionate songs for his partner, such as It Takes a Woman and Think I’m in Love With You, and songs from his imagination, such as The Bottom and What Am I Gonna Do? The soaring title track is 20 years old, but Stapleton’s music essentially changes little over time. Its strength is its sense of emotional connection, as on the empathetic Weight of Your World.