Someone new to me that people may enjoy is Amy McCarley. New album is Meco. Stands for main engine cut off. Alabama native who was a NASA contractor. Marty Stuart and other Nashville folks play on this. Really great music, well worth a listen.
So disappointed in today's Americana
I make it a habit of getting the Grammy nominated Americana albums from the library each year. Past years have introduced me to much new music, some good, some bad, some treasures (TajMo for example). This year I just listened to Brandi Carlile's cd 'By the way I forgive you', nominated for best Americana roots album. OMG it is unlistenable! You would think singer / songwriters would strive for a pristine recording that highlights their lyrics and mostly acoustic arrangements. No - it is a sonic mess, compressed all to hell. To quote my wife "Turn that crap off". End of rant.
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I can't think of a worse place to start to find good music. Some good suggestions here for sure - Gillian Welch, Sarah Jarosz, Wood Brothers, Barr Brothers(more Canadiana maybe?), Jason Isbell, Kasy and Clayton, I'm With Her etc If you like the genre definitely check out Hiss Golden Messenger - his past few albums are really great and I would argue that Lateness of Dancers is one of the best albums to be released in the past bunch of years. Great sound and songwriting The Americana roundup in Uncut magazine is a great resource - I've found a ton of great music through reading this publication in all genres. Lots of great new music out there but you do often have to hunt a bit to find the good stuff... |
Regarding Brandi Carlie and others... Is it not possible to separate the talent from the sonics here? I’m not going to stop listening/enjoying music because of less than perfect recording quality. We all know this is a problem. One that the end user has to deal with. That is the area we have control over. I get tired of reading..."my wife came in the room and said "turn that -hit off". While that sort of statement makes for good reading?, it just adds to the negative side without actually trying to fix(?) in one's own space. Quit complaining and start explaining how you're trying to overcome! |
Have you checked out Rhiannon Gidden's? She's amazing lyrically and production is fantastic as well: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vy9xTS0QxM&list=PLHpYimU_rWoCNT1cD6fVmOiiuGPq4h3IU Kacey Musgraves (though pop country) isn't bad either: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fbNDJRwXKGc |
J.S. Ondara reminds me of Tracy Chapman, Bob Marley and Jason Mraz great voice and American story. https://i.imgur.com/xdf2Cac.png https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwiS5Z_qhMTgAhWL7YMKHWGmDB0QzPwB... |
I'm still not sure what constitutes "Americana" and I don't care much for folk music but if blues influenced music is part of that then check out Martin King out of Greenville, SC. If traditional R&B with an emphasis on the 'B' is Americana then check out Vintage Trouble out of L.A. and Leon Bridges from Texas. Bridges is the real deal. |
