Tom Schafer’s album Cradle is aptly named. Shafer’s rough, redneck lullabies are like little pickup trucks full of down-home comfort that drive straight up to the porches of your ears and unload their vibe right into your brain. They are deep South, although Schafer himself hails from Miami Beach.

These songs are about blood and dirt and tears and sadness, and also about love, both tragic and the other kind. To me, the whole album feels country: not new county, with its comic songs and near-rock catchiness, but old country, that is slow, sad and real. However, Schafer considers himself a blues/rock/folk artist.

Regardless of his genre, Schafer is a solid new voice on the music scene. Check out this album if you want the kind of heartbreak music that lifts you up while it’s bringing you down.

Favorite Track: “Blood to Blood”