Colter Wall, the no-nonsense rancher who hangs his hat in southwestern Saskatchewan, is back with Memories and Empties, his fifth studio album.

“I wanted to make a straight ahead country album,” Wall says. His brand-new LP is sure to evoke the two-stepping, toe-tapping memories of Merle Haggard and The Strangers and their contemporaries.

Memories and Empties — via La Honda Records and RCA Records — was recorded at the venerable RCA Studio A with Wall’s long-time co-producer, Patrick Lyons. Wall wrote nine of the songs on the record, with a cover of Ian Tyson’s “Summer Wages” rounding out the project. Guests Noeline Hofmann and Nikki Lane add their voices to the project with harmonies that complement Wall’s timeless baritone. Throughout the record, his vocals interplay with a swinging pedal steel and classic-country bass notes as he sings relational stories which play out in rural communities. “This record is really about relationships, I guess,” Wall surmises.