With only two people and one mic, Mapache can fill up a room with more soul soaring harmony than most symphonic assemblies, carried to great heights by melodies that are incredibly supple and bursting with delight, timeless in their textures and delivery, yet with subtle new turns that give Mapache the benefit of originality.
From the very beginning, there has always been a Gothic side to country and roots music. From the murder ballads and ghost stories of the Ralph Peer-era pioneers of country, to tales of struggle and lunacy from more modern underground artists attempting to keep those haunting spirits alive, Gothic country never gets its due credit.
If tasked to do so, I will unflinchingly and wholeheartedly endorse that Leroy Virgil of Hellbound Glory is one of the greatest songwriters of our generation—up there with Jason Isbell, Cody Jinks, John Moreland et al, even if it’s of a different breed—puffing my chest out and challenging any man willing to assert otherwise.
What Jon Pardi has done over the last year is prove that an artist can stick to a more traditional style, and not only sustain, but turn in career marks, even in this difficult environment for traditional artists in the mainstream, and a stacked field for artists looking to be launched. “She Ain’t In It” is a classic country crooning heartbreak song…
Kellie Pickler is at her best when she writes her own material, and when she makes it personal. That was at the heart of 100 Proof’s critical success. Pickler’s shattered upbringing have made for some excellent country music over the years, and her personal history is what inspires her latest song “If It Wasn’t For a Woman.”
This is a record you use to get lost in the sonic beauty, with groove and soul setting the foundation. As Sturgill Simpson says, all good music is soul music. And since it’s still cast in those sepia hues of classic songs, even a country audience in favor of neotraditional styles will be able to relate. Bravo, Mr. McPherson. Bravo.
Whitney Rose’s “Rule 62″ (which by the way is “Don’t Take Yourself Too Damn Seriously”), is fun and fashionable in that throwback sort of way that’s the rage of independent roots circles at the moment, while also being bolstered by quality songwriting framed within a vintage era that still appeals to the modern perspective.
Music is the way we get through these moments. And though others have tried valiantly, Eric Church is the one so far, verified by the viral reaction, that has stepped out of the shadows of grief to deliver the light and the message we’ve all been waiting to hear, and put words to the emotions we all feel.
The Lost Bayou Ramblers—a very traditional Cajun-style band from Louisiana—has been both helping to keep the Cajun traditions alive in the ears of modern audiences, and trying to find new sonic frontiers for an almost ancient art form for going on some 15 years now.
Sorry to disrupt any Shania Twain fans out there enjoying their Tim Horton’s Canadian bacon breakfast, but this new album is complete junk. Yet the least worthy of blame might be the one whose name and visage grace the cover, trying uselessly to revitalize the 90’s relevancy of leopard print.
Since youth can blind the music connoisseur to the true nature of talent since we regard it on a sliding scale, sometimes you can get too swept up in the marvel to see the forest for the trees. But in the case of Madison Lewis, the material and the voice is so mature and unique, age doesn’t even seem like a factor in the equation.
With all the talk about the cheeky machismo of Midland lately, including many assigning the trio savior status for finally returning a semblance of traditional country back to the mainstream of country, folks seem have forgotten that William Michael Morgan did that very thing with a single called “I Met A Girl” in 2016.
While some try to sell you on the idea that adhering to certain genres or traditional instrumentation is a severe limitation on creativity, some of the most brilliant musicians are the ones who are able to work within the confines of severe limitations and still tap into originality and undiscovered musical vistas that dazzle the spirit in unique ways.
I can’t stand these Midland guys. I can’t stand their faces, I can’t stand their bullshit Tom Selleck circa 1985 mustaches, I can’t stand their stupid getups, or the fact that they’re making a mockery of the authenticity of scores of Austin-based country artists, and legions of traditional country performers across the globe.
With her third record, second generation alt-country performer Lilly Hiatt has offered up a career-defining album full of songwriting gems and inspired performances that is spirited to the heights of infectious listening by smart and considerate production. This personal and galvanized work finds the full realization of Lilly Hiatt’s vision, voice, and potential as a […]
Thomas Rhett’s got nothing. Each performing artist, whether it’s in the independent realm or the mainstream, has at least one thing they can hang their hat on that makes them unique and interesting in the entertainment marketplace. But with Thomas Rhett, it’s none of the above.
You may have not known his name or who he was, but it would be hard not to notice the tall, lanky, dreadheaded dude in big white glasses behind the drums backing up a dozen or so different independent country artists from Nashville over the years as they toured through your town, and doing his best to not just keep the beat, but bring the energy.
The life of the classic country fan living in the modern world is all to often one of disappointment. Of course there are plenty of the old records to reminisce back upon, or artists who attempt their best interpretations of the old modes for a new generation of fans. But there’s a sense of ownership […]
Most great art, regardless of the medium, is the stuff that is able to suspend a deep, roiling human emotion in a captured moment. After You’ve Gone is inspired by the heartbreak of JD Wilkes, and takes a decidedly Shack Shakers approach to extricating the pain from Col. JD’s rib cage in blistering, candid honesty.
Welcome ladies and gentlemen to Saving Country Music’s 2017 Americana Music Awards LIVE blog. As the festivities stream live from the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville (link below), we’ll tag along to leave observations, keep up with the winners, discuss the performances, and share what happened for those folks who missed it.
It has come to the point in country music history where we are giving certain songs, artists, and albums a pass, or even extra points, simply because they are more country than things that are not country at all. This is one of the unfortunate symptoms of the stretching of boundaries that has occurred through artists like Sam Hunt.
For those who thought that the news of long-time American Aquarium members Bill Corbin and Kevin McClain leaving the clan in April meant the end of American Aquarium, they don’t know the indomitable spirit of the founder, frontman, and principal songwriter of American Aquarium, BJ Barham.
Playing music isn’t always the glamours or adventurous profession it appears to be to many fans and observers on the outside, especially within the lean, meager levels of underground and independent realm. Some play music to fulfill their lifelong dreams, while others do it out of a necessity.
Where Chris Young once was one of the few remaining firewalls of true country influences in the mainstream, now he’s one of the catalysts for non country influences taking full control. As an R&B song I guess “Losing Sleep” works pretty well. But as a country song, it utterly fails—and from someone who you expect better from.