By Dan DeLuca, The Philadelphia Inquirer

Published: January 6, 2024, 5:59am

4. Iris DeMent, ‘Workin’ On A World’

Iris DeMent makes music from a deeply human, old soul perspective, going back to her timeless 1992 debut album “Infamous Angel.” “Workin’ On A World” is the Arkansas-born songwriter’s first set of originals since 2012. You could call it protest music (“Goin’ Down To Sing In Texas” is an eight-minute song about gun violence), but it’s really an album about finding faith and purpose in “The Sacred Now,” looking to the future even as mortality looms. “I’m workin’ on a world,” DeMent sings, “I may never see.”

https://www.columbian.com/news/2024/jan/06/10-best-pop-music-albums-of-2023/