The Official Country Music Thread Genre • Page 94

jesus christ finally lol

 

Good lord, the label has fucked this release up so badly that I'm not even excited about it anymore. She released the first single from this album like a year and a half ago.

Country music can't stop shooting itself in the foot with EPs.

 

Yeah at one point I was excited but after this rollout debacle and my thoughts about the full band releases of the songs, I'm pretty meh on it at this point.

 

Having a lot of fun with the Little Big Town album

 

I'm vibing with this Steve Moakler album - the idea of rural America personified in music form

 

Inside Country Radio's Hidden, Sexist Policies That Keep Female Artists Off the Air

 

Gonna kick my feet up and listen to this Tenille Townes album while reading The Winds of Winter.....

 

The really frustrating thing is that I know it isn't her fault at all (whereas, GRRM, the publishers would put that shit out any day if he ever finished the book). There are live videos from like a year and a half ago where she's talking about the album being done/introducing a song that she says is the closing track on the record. It's just a Nashville/mainstream country thing where they make all their artists release like 8 singles/usually multiple EPs before letting them actually put out albums. Especially female artists, because they almost never see the quick radio acceptance that convinces labels to fast-track the albums. Like, if "My Church" hadn't been a hit, we'd have probably gotten the first Maren Morris album last year instead of the second one. That's how slow this process is.

It's an extremely shitty trend that 1) doesn't benefit artists at all, 2) doesn't have the impact labels want it to have ("building" an audience/buzz, and 3) basically strands promising young artists in EP purgatory for 2-5 years. I hate it so much, and it's a big part of the reason that I've cooled off on country music over the last year or so. That entire segment of the industry is just shit, and makes it hard to be a fan.

A year ago I was getting press releases saying the album was "coming in 2019," and I asked them to shoot me the album as soon as it was available because I wanted to do a review/potential interview feature. Still no proper album announcement.

 

They picked the perfect outfit of hers imo.

 

It's especially hard because the music industry doesn't know how to deal with albums right now. Rumor is some of the big labels are turning away from album contracts and towards masters contracts. So instead of a 3 record deal, it's like 30 masters. Since streaming has totally changed the way that labels get paid (and artists, uh... sort of get paid?) we're all sort of trying to figure out how to move through.

Still sucks though. I've loved the one or two songs I've heard from her, but don't want to dive in and ruin the full length. But at this point, I'm about to just kind of give up.

I don't think I've been this turned off a rollout plan since John Mayer's four tracks a month in 2017. Took what is objectively a fine (or even good) record of his and tainted it.

And rollout can absolutely be part of the record experience. I remember great placements and buildup (the 1975's s/t for example) that are so part of that original listen that their good will was built into my feelings around the record.

 

Everyone needs to listen to Kassi Valazza

 

one more time for the people in the back

Dixie Chicks: Home

score's too low

 

How Dare You Love from Miranda Lambert's new album is so beautiful

 

damn I really like this single from Liz Longley

 

new Moreland streaming:

John Moreland Introduces Bigger Sound on New 'LP5': Premiere

 

I've been waiting for this one for a while. Can't wait to check it out!

 

New Moreland is great. Subtle fleshing out of the sound without losing what makes him great. Reminds me a bit of Field Report’s Marigolden in that way.

 

Oh Moreland is out tomorrow? I thought for some reason it wasn't out til the end of February. New Moreland and Spanish Love Songs on the same day makes for a good release day.

 

Moreland is really one of the best lyricists going, every release is such a treat. He's one of the few guys where with every album, I know that years from now I'll be driving and a single lyric will just hit me in the right way for the first time. This album's no different, another really strong release.

In the Throes, High on Tulsa Heat, Big Bad Luv, and LP5 might be the best recent run from a songwriter short of Isbell's.

 

Tomorrow is an insanely stacked release day.

 

What did everyone think of the new Drive By Truckers?

 

its good

 

The songs on the Tenille Townes EP are great, but man, Jay Joyce just comically overproduced the thing. It's like he heard Mutt Lange's production on the turn-of-the-century Shania Twain albums and decided that level of studio gloss was a good template.

I would probably like this more if she hadn't released that acoustic EP first, but that was so great and raw and this is just a lot more faceless. Huge bummer.