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Music

Lydia Loveless Creates Her Most Personal Album with 'Daughter'

Given the turmoil of the era, you might expect Lydia Loveless to lean into the anger, amplifying the electric guitar side of her cowpunk. Instead, she created a personal record with a full range of moods, still full of her typical wit.
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Music

Brent Cobb Says to 'Keep 'Em on They Toes'

Brent Cobb's Keep 'Em on They Toes brings people together by reminding us of our unique individuality, and the things that bind us together are all part of the same gestalt.

Music

Jim White Offers a "Smart Ass Reply" (premiere)

Jesus and Alice Cooper are tighter than you think, but a young Jim White was taught to treat them as polar opposites. Then an eight-track saved his soul and maybe his life.

Music

Becky Warren Shares "Good Luck" and Discusses Music and Depression

Becky Warren finds slivers of humor while addressing depression for the third time in as many solo concept albums, but now the daring artist is turning the focus on herself in a fight against a frightful foe.

Music

Elizabeth Cook Looks at Her Past to See What's Next on 'Aftermath'

On Aftermath, Elizabeth Cook reflects on what has passed and continues as a protagonist who has been changed by experience. She's not willing to accept what is.

Music

Brennen Leigh's "Billy and Beau" Tells Midwestern Gay Love Story (premiere)

Americana artist Brennen Leigh's "Billy and Beau" offers a story of LGBTQ+ love and coming-of-age that remains universally relatable.

Music

Bill Callahan's 'Gold Record' Offers Snapshots of Moments in Time

Former Smog songsmith Bill Callahan offers sparse and dry-recorded acoustic portraits on Gold Record.

Music

Ruston Kelly Talks About Facing His Demons on 'Shape & Destroy'

Singer-songwriter Ruston Kelly discusses his new album, Shape & Destroy, facing demons, and working with family.

Music

Ruston Kelly Finds Relief and Refinement on 'Shape & Destroy'

On Shape & Destroy, country music's Ruston Kelly finds a way to offer an unbroken hallelujah.

Music

Old 97's' 'Twelfth' Is Masterful

The years have fallen quite well upon Old 97's as Twelfth stands out as masterful even among their stacked discography.

Music

Raul Malo and the Mavericks Go 'En Español' on Their New Genre-Bending LP

Alt-country veterans the Mavericks mix their Latin heritage with their rock and country roots on En Español.

Music

H.C. McEntire Delivers Her Masterpiece with 'Eno Axis'

Born in isolation not so much by outside mandate as by natural inspiration, H.C. McEntire's Eno Axis is a masterwork of deep, spiritual escapism.

Music

'Eight Gates' Is Jason Molina's Stark, Haunting, Posthumous Artistic Statement

The ten songs on Eight Gates from the late Jason Molina are fascinating, despite – or perhaps because of – their raw, unfinished feel.

Music

Arlo McKinley's Confessional Country/Folk Is Superb on 'Die Midwestern'

Country/folk singer-songwriter Arlo McKinley's debut Die Midwestern marries painful honesty with solid melodies and strong arrangements.

Music

Kathleen Edwards Finds 'Total Freedom'

Kathleen Edwards is back making music after a five-year break, and it was worth the wait. The songs on Total Freedom are lyrically delightful and melodically charming.

Music

John Fullbright Salutes Leon Russell with "If the Shoe Fits" (premiere + interview)

John Fullbright and other Tulsa musicians decamped to Leon Russell's defunct studio for a four-day session that's a tribute to Dwight Twilley, Hoyt Axton, the Gap Band and more. Hear Fullbright's take on Russell's "If The Shoe Fits".

Music

Bonnie Whitmore Searches For Perspective With "Right/Wrong" (premiere + interview)

Bonnie Whitmore shares her latest single "Right/Wrong" ahead of upcoming LP, Last Will and Testament, which is a powerful and thought-provoking follow-up to her 2016 release.

Music

Gasoline Lollipops Encourage Us to "Get Up" (premiere)

A call to action with an insistent beat, "Get Up" crystalizes the themes heard on Gasoline Lollipops' upcoming album, All the Misery Money Can Buy.

Music

Noah Guthrie's "That's All" Innovates on His Americana Sound (premiere + interview)

Americana's Noah Guthrie debuts the bittersweet, nostalgic lyric video for his latest single, "That's All", and talks with PopMatters about how he creates the music that resonates with so many.

Music

"I Don't Want This Sullied by These Foul-mouthed Youngsters": An Interview With Old 97's

Rhett Miller of Old 97's discusses longevity, grappling with a pandemic, and embracing silver linings. "Making a band work requires putting the group before one's self. Any relationship involves sublimation of ego."

Music

The Chicks Boldly Reclaim Their Relevance on 'Gaslighter'

Gaslighter is bold and incendiary, finding the Chicks reclaiming their relevance. Thankfully, the Chicks reject silencing as Gaslighter reestablishes their penchant for vocalizing raw truths.

Music

Victoria Bailey's "Skid Row" Exemplifies the Bakersfield Sound (premiere + interview)

Victoria Bailey emerges with "Skid Row", a country romp that's an ode to an LA honky-tonk and the classic California Bakersfield sound.

Music

Americana's S.G. Goodman Discusses Activism and Changing Minds in the Rural South

Folk rocker S.G. Goodman discusses changing hearts and minds in the rural American South, all while releasing her debut album in the middle of a global pandemic. Goodman is a rising artist to watch.

Music

Country's Corb Lund Finds the Absurd in 'Agricultural Tragic'

On Corb Lund's Agricultural Tragic, he sings of grizzly bears, tattoos, hunting rats and elk, the meaning of author Louis L'Amour's fiction, and the meaning of life.

Music

The Jayhawks Offer Us Some 'XOXO'

The Jayhawks offer 12-plus songs on XOXO to help listeners who may be alone and scared by reminding us that we are all alone together.

Music

Old Crow Medicine Show Sing on Through Total Devastation

Social unrest, a global pandemic, and an industry that has forever been changed? No problem. Old Crow Medicine Show's Ketch Secor stares down the future.

Jedd Beaudoin
Music

Teddy Thompson Sings About Love on 'Heartbreaker Please'

Teddy Thompson's Heartbreaker Please raises one's spirits by accepting the end as a new beginning. He's re-joining the world and out looking for love.

Music

Country's Jaime Wyatt Gets in Touch With Herself on 'Neon Cross'

Neon Cross is country artist Jaime Wyatt's way of getting in touch with all the emotions she's been going through. But more specifically, it's about accepting both the past and the present and moving on with pride.

Music

Chatham County Line Drum Up Something New for 'Strange Fascination'

Bluegrassy Chatham County Line expand their sound into alternative country with a natural fluidity on Strange Fascination.

Music

Steve Earle Finds Common Ground With 'Ghosts of West Virginia'

On Ghosts of West Virginia, Steve Earle chronicles the lives, hopes, dreams, and regrets of families who've lived for generations in coal country with a masterful song cycle that's long on empathy and short on judgment.

Music

American Aquarium Offer 'Lamentations' on the American Dream

On Lamentations, Americana band American Aquarium address these hard times, the sins of the South, and those that want the band to just shut up and sing.

Music

'Reunions' Is Yet Another Winner From Jason Isbell

Jason Isbell both subverts and embraces country and rock tropes on Reunions, his new album with the 400 Unit.

Music

The 10 Best Americana Albums of 2007

If 2007 didn't invite any gripping controversies, it was certainly filled with competitive comparisons -- between young and old, past and present, and among splintered factions -- and both surprising hits and disappointing misses. All in all, a dynamic and at times resurgent year for the broad scope of Americana.

Music

Whitney Rose Still Goes to Rodeos

The music world has been conquered by women like Whitney Rose, whose guitar based-sounds on We Still Go to Rodeos recall the splendors of the past and move them forward with a kick in the butt.

Music

Lucinda Williams Right at Home With Writing Partner for 'Good Souls Better Angels'

Able to write and sing the blues, gospel, folk, rock and alt-country with the same amount of true grit and passion, Lucinda Williams comes out swinging while discussing her explosive new album during these troubled times.

Music

​​​Where Are the Good Souls, the Better Angels?​​ Asks Lucinda Williams

On her new searing album, Good Souls Better Angels, Lucinda Williams rages against the darkness of our era and seeks the strength to get through it.

Music

Hiss Golden Messenger's 'Forward, Children' Offers "Beauty in the Broken American Moment"

Hiss Golden Messenger offer up a welcome serving of musical communion, and in the service of others, during a time when we all need consolation and reassurance. Forward, Children is a PopMatters Pick and aids a worthy cause: education.


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