Your Front Row Seat To Americana Music
With the new year knocking at our door and calling us forward, we can't forget all the goodness that 2017 had to offer--maybe not so much culturally or politically, but there were definitely some damn fine albums released this year. MCP highlights ten releases that made an indelible impression on us--drum roll please! Andrew Combs... Continue Reading →
This year, Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats released their self-titled debut on Memphis, Tennessee's renowned label Stax Records, home of legends like Otis Redding and Booker T. & the M.G.'s. While Rateliff's previous work has been on the folk side of the musical spectrum, Rateliff has revamped his sound and teamed up with a talented... Continue Reading →
Let The Good Times Roll, the second full-length album from R&B roots revivalist J.D. McPherson is a bona fide invitation to boogie. With reverb-drenched guitars, slap-style upright bass grooves, touches of chugging baritone sax and organ, and McPherson’s signature vocal grit, the record’s eleven tracks burst with energy and soulful depth. You can hear the... Continue Reading →
Layered and complex, The Oh Hellos are a riddle inside of a puzzle wrapped in a conundrum. A constellation of Damien Rice tones, Manchester Orchestra energy, and Nickel Creek riffs, The Oh Hellos are complicated enough before even diving in to their conceptual side. Throw C.S. Lewis and his satiric Screwtape Letters into the mix and... Continue Reading →
It is easy to get lost in Strange Tales, the sophomore effort from Lord Huron. With a narrative essentially built around the plot of Oregon Trail, Ben Schneider's 14-song tale navigates across rivers, through the wilderness, discussing the importance of honor and dignity during the exploration of new lands, with hints of broken hearts and loneliness in... Continue Reading →
Darlingside isn’t shy about their crush on the 1960’s. If we're being frank, the opening track “The Ancestor” from Birds Say could easily have found its way onto Brian Wilson’s Beach Boys masterpiece Pet Sounds. Like Wilson, the band brings to the table an understanding of instruments that most never possess. Heavily trained in cello... Continue Reading →
With a collection of songs intentionally omitting frills, High On Tulsa Heat is hell-bent on untangling the things John Moreland feels. Straightforward and direct, there is no gimmick to Moreland. His music mirrors his image mainly because his image is exactly what he is. Refusing to hide behind the glitz and glitter that has recently headlined... Continue Reading →
If there was any question whether or not country music was in the process of purging the crossover glitter-pop and bro-country image that it had rolled into Nashville, Chris Stapleton answers it defiantly. With a broad-shouldered look and a voice to match, Stapleton’s joined a generation of “outlaw country” artists, hell-bent on taking back music row.... Continue Reading →
Although Locked Up In My Mind comes off as effortless on the surface, it possesses a deeper sound that John Fatum intentionally created. Recorded through a vintage 4-track in a New York apartment, the DIY sound recalls a flawless 1970's singer-songwriter style far too often shoved aside or relegated to the "classic rock" stations. With... Continue Reading →
Hailey Winters is as charismatic as a complicated, no-bullshit girl can possibly be. Headstrong and confident, she sarcastically blazes through snarky lyrics, unapologetically punctuating her bullet points. With an unstoppable one-two punch of angelic voice and devilish charm, Whitters bats her eyes while flipping you off in a way that could make Johnny Cash proud. With a... Continue Reading →