Americana has never been better with the quality of music, diversity of styles, and the artists’ demographics in terms of race, gender, and wealth.
Country-rockers Loose Cattle’s Someone’s Monster suggests that we may all be somebody else’s demons while the songs imply we might be our own worst enemies.
Can’t Steal My Fire: The Songs of David Olney introduces one of America’s great but overlooked songwriters to a broader audience.
Ross Goldstein’s Blunders embraces the melody and inventiveness of the best pop music but is still unusual and daring enough to stand out.
Chuck Prophet’s incorporation of Cumbia music on Wake the Dead feels more natural than it sounds, but he remains himself, and we get the best of both worlds.
Office Culture’s Charlie Kaplan takes a little from garage rock and folk rock, producing his most satisfying solo release to date. It genuinely mesmerizes.
Christian Lee Hutson’s Paradise Pop. 10 is one of those subtle and more nuanced albums, likely causing it to slip under the radar, but Hutson has arrived.
From the first song on Kelley Mickwee’s Everything Beautiful, you hear her expressive joy and feel her desire to create a cohesive and provocative piece of art.
As they’ve proven on their debut, the Clearwater Swimmers click beautifully as a quartet but are also guided by songwriting of the highest order.
In a world full of shredders, Bo Ramsey reveals the splendor of simplicity in his blues-laden Sidetrack EP. He lets this guitar do most of the talking.
Nite Owls is JD McPherson’s most fully realized front-to-back example of his talent yet, and it points the way to an even more exciting follow-up.
Americana singer-songwriter Shelby Lynne talks to PopMatters about her acclaimed new album, Consequences of the Crown, and the long road it took to get here.
