Shazam Around The World: A Touch Of Americana
With Fleet Foxes’ country-flavoured vocal harmonies and Bon Iver’s famous cabin retirement having produced the most universally acclaimed albums of 2008; it comes as no surprise that talent scouts are once again turning their ears towards the sounds of Americana. While there are no signs of a revival of the scope and impact of the mid-nineties wave of alt-country renovators (from Lambchop to Bonnie “Prince” Billy), a number of new acts mixing the old heritage (folk, country, blues) with the new (psychedelia, lo-fi, indie-rock) are helping to reignite interest for the genre.
Our favourite of the new pack is Woods, former lo-fi specialists who used to release their recordings on tape. “Songs Of Shame”, their fourth opus, has been hailed as their more accomplished to date. To their DIY weird psychedelic antics, they have added a diversity of classic influences, ranging from the guitar fuzz and distortion of Neil Young or Dinosaur Jr., to Crosby, Stills & Nash more rustic melodies. The promo videos ‘To Clean’ and ‘Where and what are you’ show celebrated proof of the band’s evolution, and although Jeremy Earl and Jarvis Taveniere are still way too experimental to forecast a big entrance into mainstream acceptance - like the one Fleet Foxes recently went through - it’s easy to see them among the top 10 of many blogs and publications when the moment to review the year arrives.
Read more…
