A much needed thread for current Americana/folk/country rock music

Funky

Funky

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Because it feels like we're in the midst of quite a significant revival.

Country never really goes away but now and again we get a bit of a revival in folk and Americana, the last one was probably around the Mumford & Sons, Lumineers etc nu folk craze but it was pretty commercial (some would also say crap!), this time around there seems to be more of an authentic rootsy, bluesy sound emerging and surprisingly it's infiltrating the charts in a big way.

It might be the ongoing 70s revival influencing it but there is more of a throwback to the sound which I'm of course loving.

These two huge Zach Bryan tracks from last year seem to have kicked things off:





This is currently climbing the pop charts in 2024, which is crazy to see



This has been getting tonnes of airplay and attention in the UK, not sure about elsewhere. I ADORE it.



Then of course there is Noah Kahan...

Anyway I'm just happy that it's helped diversify the charts a bit. We do need more guitar music in the mix and I do love this sound. Let's share some good stuff.
 
i-dont-think-i-belong-here.gif
 
I was a bit disappointed in the anticipated Ilsey album to be honest, after No California I was expecting another Lissie-style Stevie Nicks tribute, but it's not really that. More of an understated Taylor Swift album, but without the bops.

But I do like this a LOT which leads into the theme. Very 80s Fleetwood Mac

 
This is a recent discovery and it's magnificent, the sort of dark bluesy country I LOVE LOVE LOVE

Shocked to discover it's a musical diversion from Downton Abbey stars Michael Fox and Michelle Dockery :o

 
I Remember Everything is rather lovely

And I'm all for anything breaking the EDM & Lewis-Capaldi-esque-tortured-sad-boy stranglehold we've had in the charts the past decade

But I also find after a couple of American folk songs, I'm very quickly BORED and go off to seek something a bit more lively like Dido or summat.
 
Also currently obsessed with this. More Fleetwood Mac vibes



Fizz are a collective band featuring dodie, Orla Gartland, Greta Isaac and Martin Luke Brown. The album is quite good, not all fits the genre but they also seem to be following the Taylor Swift folk/americana/pop hybrid sound.
 
This is my CURRENT FAVOURITE SONG IN THE WORLD. I've become a bit obsessed with Bess Atwell as a recent discovery, and this is her best yet. The classic piano / acoustic guitar combo never fails with me, but her VOICE, my God...

 
This is wonderful. I think I discovered her on 6Music or something like that. This is very bluesy and rootsy influenced, very Paula Cole. I haven't checked out her other stuff yet.

 
That FIZZ song is nothing like the other singles I heard from them, good though.

Margo Price released an excellent two part album last year. County Road is my favourite, and Lydia is another epic:



Her previous album was equally strong, with more of a seventies California rock vibe. I love Letting Me Down:

 
A new album by Hurray For The Riff Raff is upcoming. Excellent lead single:



EP from Holly Macve:

 
Yeah that Fizz song is more directly an effort to sound like the current Americana sound and it really works for me.

Nice to see these guys back, good timing:

 
This has probably been posted elsewhere, but chalk up another artist leaning into this sound

 
Funky said:
This has probably been posted elsewhere, but chalk up another artist leaning into this sound

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Just popped in to post this and noticed I already had! It's really grown on me.
 
Not a massive fan of this but it's soaring up the chart.



The Michael Macargi song went Top 10 for the first time too.
 
All the hair tossing is a bit much but I quite like the song.

New Waxahatchee album. Right Back to It was the lead but the sparse 365 is the one:

 
Will definitely have to listen to that.

The Staves have gone more alternative with their latest album but there's still the roots of their country-folk sound in there. Haven't listened properly yet but it seems to be getting a bit of love from the real music press

 
All Now is on my current jamlist. A little more lively than their usual Haim-does-Norah-Jones vibe.
 
So I'm not a huge fan of his song that is currently taking over the charts worldwide (it's alright) but the rest of his EP is not half bad, especially "Savannah" and this song, which is so brilliantly written. Definitely feels like more than just a churned out white man with a soul voice.

 
FetchFugly said:
Full on loving DASHA now.

There are a handful of songs on the Gossip album that could be posted in this thread but Peace and Quiet is my pick:



:(
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As could a fair few tracks from Beth's hugely underrated Fake Sugar from 2017. Her voice really suits the sound when she leans into it.
 
FetchFugly said:
All the hair tossing is a bit much but I quite like the song.

New Waxahatchee album. Right Back to It was the lead but the sparse 365 is the one:

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Listening to this now and its really strong

If you haven't heard Saint Cloud and Cerulean Salt, I like them both a lot

is so good
 
I need to listen to the new Maggie Rogers and Gossip (not that either of them were artists I associated with fold or country or Americana in the past)
 
RJN said:
I need to listen to the new Maggie Rogers and Gossip (not that either of them were artists I associated with fold or country or Americana in the past)
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Gossip are just having a bit of a diversion by the sounds of things, but Maggie Rogers seems to be going full Americana on this new album.
 
RJN said:
Listening to this now and its really strong

If you haven't heard Saint Cloud and Cerulean Salt, I like them both a lot

is so good
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I have Saint Cloud but I haven’t really gone back further.
 
RJN said:




I still think you might like it, but it’s way less folk than I was remembering it being
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She reminds me a lot of Nerina Pallot, who i LOVE. I will definitely go back to this, thanks
 
Add ZAYN to the list. This is lovely. I think he's trying to sound like Chris Stapleton which I'm choosing to ignore, and pretend he's been listening to Ray Lamontagne instead...

 
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