Fancy Hagood can do it all. The Nashville-based singer-songwriter’s 2021 debut Southern Curiosity was a surprising and inventive mix of rootsy folk pop and queered, left-of-center country that remains delightfully uncategorizable. On this sophomore album, though, Hagood goes all in on ’90s country, channeling genre legends like Brooks & Dunn and Reba McEntire to infectious effect. There’s a stacked roster of co-writers, too, including Nashville mainstays Caitlyn Smith and Mindy Smith as well as actor and musician Mary Steenburgen. American Spirit opens with “Ever Really Ready,” a Jarrad K (Ruston Kelly, Lucie Silvas) co-write about opening up to love after heartbreak. It’s a sweet, wistful song with ample room for Hagood to show subtler shades of his versatile voice. The title track uses the metaphor of an American Spirit cigarette to explore the darker edges of a secret romance, telling of “white lies in a talking town.” Hagood taps Michelle Branch to join him on “Isn’t That Life,” a laidback, rootsy number well suited to Branch’s rich and agile voice. And on “The Chase,” Hagood gets an assist from all-star folk act Watkins Family Hour, the long-running side project of siblings and Nickel Creek members Sean and Sara Watkins.