Westward

Album ∙ Country ∙ 2025

Dylan Gossett

Dylan Gossett’s debut album opens a prayer. With minimal accompaniment, the Austin, Texas-based singer-songwriter wonders if he’s too far gone on the LP’s old-timey opening track, pairing gospel-tinged harmonies with rootsy guitar to dramatic effect as he asks, “Lord, will you carry me?” Only a minute and a half long, the song sets the tone for the searching and heartfelt collection, which Gossett wrote and produced himself. That tune leads into “Hangin’ On,” a bright and buoyant folk-rocker reminiscent of early Mumford & Sons with its quick-strummed rhythm guitar and anthemic feel. The road song “American Trail” dips into newgrass, complete with banjo, fiddle, mandolin, and multi-part vocal harmonies, a sound that differentiates Gossett from peers like Zach Bryan. And the album, of course, features one of Gossett’s biggest hits, the stripped-down and vulnerable “Coal,” on which he wonders if the pressures of life will ever bring forth growth.