"Album pick" - "Returning to independent status after a swift sojourn at Rounder, Cody Jinks released two albums in two successive weeks in October 2019. After the Fire is the first of these, and it finds the Texas troubadour narrowing his scope from the propulsive, cinematic Lifers, which is something of a subtle irony, considering how it's been designed as part of a pair of albums. Taken on its own terms, After the Fire is a lean and slyly unassuming album, a collection that rolls along at its own easy pace ... Jinks nimbly glides between the light and dark on After the Fire, never dwelling too long in either extreme, and that balance helps the album feel both modest and fully realized. It's too humble to be seen as a major statement, but its ease and craft are a testament to the depths of Jinks' talent as both a songwriter and a singer"