About a year ago, I created a round-up review and playlist based around Americana music. I’ve decided to revitalise the playlist with some new blood within the Americana genre. It’s a style that spans many musical boundaries, often including elements of rock, folk, country, bluegrass, and indie. However, Americana is still a distinctive genre, as you’ll usually know it as soon as you hear it. Hopefully, there should be something you like here!
Review by Jane Howkins
Photo by Emily Kidd
Emily Kidd – Prisoner
First up is Emily Kidd, a singer-songwriter and musician based out of Nashville. Prisoner is an incredibly powerful song, showing off Emily’s amazing vocals perfectly. The guitars have a really lovely sound here, mixing with the bouncy rhythm to create something that sounds very upbeat as a whole. Lots of different guitar and slide guitar motifs break off from the main melody, adding a range of textures to this lovely tune. The chorus elevates things even higher, as Emily’s vocals soar over the music.
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Derek Lee Goodreid – Lost & Alone Again
Eagle eyed views will have noticed we’ve featured Derek Lee Goodreid here before – his music is so good, that I’ve decided to include a new track here! Lost & Alone Again is quite a dark sound tune, marking a massive change from the previous song on this list. It sounds like quite a simple song at first, but there’s a lot more to this track, as it shows a great deal of passion and emotion from Derek. His vocals are raw, but they suit the melancholy themes perfectly, as the eerie guitar melody pulsates away in the background.
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Paterson – Don’t It Feel Good
Paterson is a quirky acoustic singer-songwriter with a raw talent, mixing together elements of country, folk and Americana into one amazing package. Don’t It Feel Good is quite a simple sounding song, but it doesn’t need to be any more complicated, as it’s absolutely perfect as it is. The only instrumentation comes from a strummed acoustic guitar, as Paterson sings in a lovely way over the top. It’s also fantastic to have some LGBT representation within this genre, as it tends to be lacking at times!
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mad/no/mad – It’s All Over Now
mad/no/mad is another interesting artist that we’ve featured before, with It’s All Over Now being his addition to this list. It’s got quite a dark sound, as the main guitar melody creeps through the track in a gorgeous way. There isn’t really any other instrumentation as such, allowing the vocals to really stand out. The vocals suit the style of music well, having a raw quality of tone. The guitar solo that appears halfway through has a lovely sound, adding more variety to this thematic piece. Check mad/no/mad out below!
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Jeremy Parsons – Humanity
Singer-songwriter and musician Jeremy Parsons is based in Texas, one of the homes of the Americana style of music. Humanity is a really beautiful sounding song, containing a fantastic message within the lyrics. It starts out rather slowly, with Jeremy’s vocals being the main focal point of the track. Some lovely guitar melodies are introduced after a while, alongside the beat. There’s also some slide guitar to be heard in the background, although it’s used sparingly, showing a musician with some great songwriting skills. It’s a gorgeous sounding tune so take a listen if you like your Americana!
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The Cumberland River Project – A Place Called Earth
The Cumberland River Project is a band created by German musician Frank Renfordt, creating the fabulous new tune, A Place Called Earth. It’s quite uncommon to hear Americana music from Germany, but Frank has certainly captured the sound perfectly here! The track has a really uplifting sound, full of positive acoustic guitar melodies that meld well with Frank’s joyous vocals. The lyrics are really nice too, adding a slightly different theme to the song than you might normally expect from a song of this genre.
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Down South Pepper Band – The Funny Part
Down South Pepper Band is another amazing act that we’ve featured before, back with their new tune, The Funny Part. It’s quite upbeat, making for something that makes you want to start tapping your toes along straight away! As well as the obvious Americana influence, The Funny Part also has elements of country and the blues, making for something that sounds really awesome overall. The piano adds something a little extra special, bouncing along with the uptempo rhythm. The slide guitar is used really effectively too – it’s prominent, but it’s never too much.
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Drops of indigo – Shrouds of illusions
We’ve actually featured Shrouds of illusions in a separate review, but it’s that good, that I couldn’t help but feature the track again here! Drops of indigo is a Swedish singer-songwriter duo, with Shrouds of illusions being their latest outstanding release. It’s a really beautiful piece of work, featuring some gorgeous fingerpicked acoustic guitar melodies, alongside the occasional electric guitar solo. The main thing that really sets this band apart is the chorus – it’s hauntingly beautiful, seeing both member of this amazing duo using their vocals together in a pretty way.
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Shane Scarazzini & EightFingers – Free To Roam
Free To Roam is a track that sounds absolutely gorgeous from the very start, containing several different guitar melodies that play over each other in a lovely way. As such, it’s the sort of tune you’ll have to listen to a few times over to fully appreciate everything. Shane Scarazzini & EightFingers has produced something really lovely here – one of the stand out moments is the way the different vocal lines are used. The female backing vocals add a nice harmonic touch as they underline the lead vocals, also creating a little more variety in this pretty piece.
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The Mind Action Conflict – Fantasy
Fantasy is one of the more unique offerings on this list, as it also contains moments of indie, rock and synth rock. The synths add something of an 80s vibe, although the track still has that nostalgic quality I’ve come to expect from the Americana genre, particularly in the vocals. Short guitar solos can be heard when the vocals break off, adding a bluesy feel to the music at times. The breakdown towards the end changes things up even more, before the fast beat and guitars kick in once again. The Mind Action Conflict have created something astounding on Fantasy, appealing to music fans across the board.
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The Tiger Moths – Dreaming of Yesterday
London band The Tiger Moths add a little more rock and roll to this list with their fabulous new release, Dreaming of Yesterday. The beat has that classic rock vibe, as some bluesy guitar licks play along. It’s an undeniably catchy piece of work, getting under your skin straight away! The harmonica is also a lovely touch, working well in the background with the rest of the instrumentation. The vocals are a little raw at times, but they suit the style of music, making it sound very genuine as a whole. Make sure you check these guys out live if you get the chance, as I’m sure they’ll be great!
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Pam Ross – Falling Off the Merry Go Round
Rounding this list off nicely is Pam Ross with her cool new tune, Falling Off the Merry Go Round. The song has quite a dark vibe at times, due to the chord sequence and the lyrical themes. Pam’s vocals are a little distinctive, adding more character to the piece as they continue through the music in an awesome way. The driving rhythm really sets this piece apart, as a selection of bluesy guitar licks tail off every so often. It’s another genre-combining track, so fans of rock, the blues, Americana and folk should find something to love here.
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Roots – playlist by York Calling | Spotify