You know those records in your collection that, within the first five seconds you heard them, you knew they were going to leave you wanting more? This Changes Everything is one of those records. The very first sound you hear is a blast of pure, unadorned steel guitar, followed immediately by the most crystalline acoustic guitar chord imaginable, fading into vibrato. Then comes Jim Lauderdale’s voice: “It was gettin’ half past late, then from out of the blue, my hopes that had escaped came back when I saw you.” It’s the title track from the latest by one of the most prolific, in-demand and highly respected artists in the Americana vein, and already you’re hooked by its honesty and warmth. Over the course of its 11 tracks, co-written by Lauderdale with various colleagues, the veteran singer-songwriter serves up reminder after reminder of what real country music is all about. Although there isn’t anything that suggests deliberate throwback, it’s hard not to think of this set—which Lauderdale has described as one giant love letter to the music of Texas—wistfully. Each tune feels immediately at home in your head. “Lost in the Shuffle,” an uptempo slice of honky-tonk, tells a simple but universal tale of the one that’s getting away (“I’ve got this dance until you walk away”), while “We Really Shouldn’t Be Doing This,” the only sole writing credit of the set and originally cut by George Strait, is nearly Jimmy Buffett-level tropical in its joyous, skipping rhythm. There isn’t a track on it that you won’t want to hear again and again.