Orville Peck, “Stampede Vol. 1.”

Masked outlaw country star Orville Peck has curated a very clear sound for himself over the years. Songs like “Dead of Night” and “Roses Are Falling” formed the image of the Peck we’ve come to know: a deep-voiced country belter, the queer “queen of the rodeo,” with soundscapes that make you feel like you’re riding through the Sonoran desert with only your steed and the gun at your hip.

Stampede Vol. 1, his first release since he signed with Warner Records last month, uses this brand, but rather than making a carbon-copy of 2022’s Bronco or 2019’s Pony, Peck brings in other voices, preventing stagnation without losing what makes his music so distinctive. Each collaborator (and there’s one for each song) brings their own sound and the results are gorgeous, if sometimes a little surprising.

Stampede Vol. 1 is an exercise in growth: Orville Peck plays with genre, sound and content while keeping the record—it’s longer than an EP but shorter than an LP—coherent and making it a wonderful start-to-finish listening experience.

The album’s opening track and lead single, a loving rendition of Ned Sublette’s 1981 gay cowboy anthem “Cowboys Are Frequently Secretly Fond of Each Other,” features none other than Willie Nelson. It does justice to the original while keeping it feeling engaging and new, even to long-time fans who’ve heard almost every cover on the planet.

Peck’s rumbling voice and the backing instrumental keep it from feeling like a copy of Nelson’s own 2006 cover, and the accompanying video by Ben Prince highlights the diversity and beauty of the real queer cowboy community. The song was also the impetus for all of Stampede Vol. 1; Nelson asking Peck to record it with him sparked the idea for an album of duets.

Another standout track is “Mítenme,” a collaboration with actress an singer Bu Cuaron, which manages to blend Peck’s outlaw country brand with traditional Banda music (and Spanish language lyrics) to create a very compelling sound. Though it may seem like this collaboration is, in part, Peck’s way of paying tribute to the often forgotten Mexican rancheros and cowboys of the days of the Wild West, it doesn’t feel like an outlier among Peck’s discography, especially on Stampede.

The link and jazzy “Chemical Sunset,” featuring folk-soul artist Allison Russell, evokes the image of a ’40s bar. The two seem to be singing to each other as much as they are with each other. The trumpet bleats, played with a mute, are the cherry on top of the ice cream.

Meanwhile, “The Hurtin’ Kind,” with country band Midland, plays with classic country staples while preserving Peck’s penchant for heart-wrenching lyrical delivery—the song even has a reference to listening to Chris Isaac’s “Wicked Game,” which fits the vibe of this song perfectly.

The second of the record’s two covers is a sonic outlier; Elton John’s “Saturday Night’s Alright (For Fighting).” John himself guests as the song generally stays true to the rollicking original but with Peck taking lead on the first verse before the two begin switching off back and forth. Other than it being fun, it’s perhaps a symbolic addition to this record.

The record is filled out with twangy ballad “How Far Will We Take It?” with Noah Cyrus, and “Conquer The Heart,” featuring Nathaniel Rateliff, a hazy but weighty guitar-led tune.