Julien Baker and Mackenzie Scott (a.k.a. Torres) are indie singer-songwriters with Southern roots. On Send a Prayer My Way, they get together for a great country record. The album’s wonderful first single, “Sugar in the Tank,” exalts in the kind of easygoing tunefulness that can equally lend itself to a roots-rock anthem or a country radio hit. As queer artists, Scott and Baker have said the album was about making country music they could see themselves in, and that others might, too. It makes Send a Prayer My Way feel like a rich tribute that also moves the genre forward. —Jon Dolan