Here are Max Sparber's picks for the best new country and Americana songs of January, 2018.
"Dust,” Basins
Very short, spooky piece with deep, booming country
gospel harmonies and eerie electric guitar. Not sure what the song is
about, but late at night, in the dark, when the song describes the tiny
eyes of babies, it’s terrifying.
“Take Me for a Ride,” Caitlin Canty
Over a spare, rattling drum and a
wash of moody country guitars, Canty sings of ruefully returning to a
lover who is no good for her, her melody sometimes offering welcome
echoes of Joni Mitchell.
“Bullets in the Sky,” Mary Gauthier
The whole album “Rifles and Rosary
Beads” is a stunning look at an America caught up in decades of war.
This song is a steady, unflinching look at the ambivalent experiences of
a veteran on Veteran’s Day.
“A Lamb, A Dove,” H.C. McEntire
A country gospel number that both makes
lovely use of the church piano and aching harmonies of the genre and
the language of loss, redemption and grace of the church.
"Cry, Cry, Cry,” David Myles
An enjoyable mash-up of country and early
rock and roll sounds, mixing the smooth harmonies of white doo wop, the
frantic drumming of surf rock, the reverbed guitars of rockabilly, the
melodies of Roy Orbison, and Spanish horns.
“Someone Singing with Me,” Joe Purdy & Amber Rubarth
From the
“American Folk” soundtrack, a gorgeous folk-country duo about loneliness,
and tight-harmony singing as a cure for loneliness.
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