The journey of Americana songwriter Sterling Drake has taken him from the Big Cypress of south Florida to the mountains of western Montana and everywhere in between. With a penchant for honest storytelling, Drake weaves his own perspective into the American songbook, often highlighting a strong sense of place. In 2021, he began releasing a series of singles and EPs that prompted Rolling Stone to praise his “rough-hewn aesthetics,” and in 2024, he took home Male Honky Tonk Artist of the Year honors at the annual Ameripolitan Awards in Austin. The Shape I’m In, Drake’s captivating debut, is a lively jaunt through the landscapes of roots music. Produced by Grammy-winning Icelandic multi-instrumentalist Thorleifur Davidsson (Sierra Ferrell, KALEO), the 14-track record subverts expectations and reimagines the familiar sounds that have shaped country music. The writing is profoundly existential, and the performances are raw and revealing to match, captured live in just two days of tracking with an all-star cast of players. The band’s chemistry is palpable, with a sound that’s timeless and inviting even as it remains loose and rough around the edges. The Shape I’m In finds Drake stretching beyond his honky tonk roots, expanding his sonic palette with lush, harmonically adventurous arrangements as indebted to Willie Nelson and Townes Van Zandt as Merle Haggard and Roger Miller.