The Official Country Music Thread Genre • Page 68

I'm not in love with Sparrow. It's good, not great, imo. I think The Blade is a lot better and a lot closer to what you're looking for. The title track especially.

"Somebody's Daughter" is my favorite song of the year, and nothing else is even really close. I was so bowled over by that song the first time I heard it. In general, her stuff really just moves me. Someone on Twitter said she's like a young Lori McKenna and I think that's right on the money. If she releases her full-length this year, I'd be surprised if it's not my favorite album of 2018.

If you haven't watched this live performance yet () I'd highly recommend it. She tells the stories behind the songs she plays, and she plays the supposed closing track from her forthcoming LP which is just incredible.

Co-signed on all of these.

 

Yeah, that record is great, and her debut is really fun too. New one just makes me feel like I'm half asleep in a waiting room or something.

It's insane haha. He puts guys twice his age to shame, and it doesn't sound forced or put-on at all, totally natural. Can't wait for the new record.

 

oh and fuck it, here's some recs of mine as well:

Ruston Kelly
Travis Meadows
James McMurtry
Frankie Lee
Courtney Marie Andrews
Dawn Landes
Otis Gibbs
Red Shahan
Caroline Spence
Jason Eady

 

The new Cody Jinks and Lucero albums need more hype in here! The singles from both have been great!

 

The restaurant I had lunch at today was playing Lucero's "Live in Atlanta" record in its entirety. It was dope haha. Really stoked on their new record, and the Cody Jinks LP is gonna rip for sure.

 

Nice!! That’s gotta be a sweet restaurant. I don’t think anywhere out where i live would ever play something like Lucero haha

 

First Listen: Amanda Shires, 'To The Sunset'

 

So glad to see you listed Caroline Spence, I don't think she gets enough praise around here.

 

Yeah it's a smaller, locally owned and operated place called TwentyTap. Best cheese curds on earth haha. It's in a neighborhood with a ton of great smaller, independent type restaurants and pubs etc. Incidentally it's also the neighborhood where David Letterman went to high school, so that's fun too haha.

I only just discovered her recently through Spotify, real glad I did. "Heart of Somebody" came up in the "similar artists" radio that generates when a playlist ends and I was instantly into it.

 

Sigh. I was really hoping they would let the album be as stripped down as the EP. Guess not. They comically overproduced this. I'm not sure how you listen to this version of a song with those lyrics and think it makes sense. Still looking forward to the album, but my expectations have been dampened a bit.

 

I really like the original version. I can’t say that (after one listen) I enjoy this new version

 

I think I’d like it if I hadn’t heard what she was capable of with just an acoustic guitar.

 

Ugh, why on earth would they try to turn this into some upbeat thing? It was perfect the way it was. That was a bummer, expectations just went down the toilet.

 

I have no idea. It's so bizarre. It would have made more sense to do this with something like "White Horse" or "Where You Are," where the core sentiment of the song isn't this deep, sad, contemplative thing. Nothing about this song justifies that arrangement.

It's also odd, because she's not working with some faceless corporate radio country producer. The producer here is Jay Joyce, who has done a lot of great work over the years and typically makes records within the mainstream that still let the artists and the songwriting shine. I did not expect him to do...this.

 

So this Cody Jinks record is fantastic. Probably my favorite thing he has done so far. It’s just great classic country.

 

I wish I liked Cody Jinks as a vocalist, because he’s a great writer. His voice is the kind of country voice that doesn’t do anything for me.

 

What is it that you don’t like about it? I’m pretty new to the country scene but his voice reminds me a lot of some early 90’s country singers. And I’d say it’s not too dissimilar from Brothers Osborne... but I’m fully prepared to admit i don’t know what I’m talking about haha

 

I disagree with the Brothers Osborne comparison. I think J.T. from that band has a very distinct, interesting baritone voice. There's a lot of depth and color to his tone.

I don't think Jinks is a bad singer by any means, he's just a little too "generic classic country singer" for me.

 

That’s fair. Like i said I’m pretty untrained with country. I guess his classic county sound is what i like about his voice.

I will say J.T. has one of the best voices in country for me.

 

I’m loving this new Jinks album. The guy is about to blow up even more than he already has.

 

New Jason Eady album on the way.

 

I assume this is a similar reason you weren’t all that in to the Hedley album?

 

I didn’t like anything about that record, but I mostly just felt like he was a mediocre songwriter.

 

Haha fair enough.

 

I met Courtney Marie Andrews yesterday at xpnfest and she has a tattoo of a cartoon hedgehog on her right wrist that she told me is from her favorite Russian folktale, the Hedgehog in the Fog, and directed me to this Japanese animation of it from the 70s (if anyone was interested):

Also her set was amazing she's amazing.