Style: country-tinged folk; compare to Ryan Adams, Jackson Browne, Sandra McCracken
Top Tracks: “A Country of My Own,” “Pride (Won’t Get Us Where We’re Going),” “The Master’s Calling”
Thad Cockrell has lent vocals to Sandra McCracken (“In Feast or Fallow”) and written for MercyMe (“Won’t You Be My Love”)—hints of the talents revealed on the artist’s fourth album. This collection strikes a satisfying balance between the earthy and spiritual, while Cockrell’s warm, homespun tenor shines equally from modern hymn (“The Master’s Calling”) and old southern gospel (“He Set Me Free”) to understated alt-Americana anthem (“A Country of My Own”) and neo-folk rollicker (“Look Up Sarah”). To Be Loved stirs the soul, yet sets it soothingly afloat above the yearnings of life.
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