The 9513 - Country Music Blog

Listening to a Kris Kristofferson record for his melodious singing voice is a little bit like reading The New Yorker solely for the cartoons. Kristofferson—one of the greatest songwriters country music has known—has never been the strongest singer, even in his prime, but here he sounds every day of his 73 years. Still, while he [...]

Continue reading "Album Review: Kris Kristofferson – Closer To The Bone"

While Miranda Lambert’s debut album Kerosene offered a refreshing burst of artistic exuberance and a relative disregard for the conventions and methods employed by her then would-be peers, the album suffered from a certain narrative naivety and a notable lack of artistic refinement. With her sophomore effort, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, Lambert brought her artistic vision into [...]

Continue reading "Album Review: Miranda Lambert – Revolution"

It’s been five years since the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band released an album. Though they haven’t exactly been resting on their laurels, this interval between records isn’t too surprising: After all, once a band’s been together for 45 years, don’t you think they’d get a little bored with it all? Listening to Speed of Life, [...]

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Guy Clark is one of the premier songwriters of his generation–even that might be an understatement.
Unlike his friend, the late, great Townes Van Zandt, Clark’s songs have always been readily accessible, yet still manage to contain layers of depth. He likes to talk about the holes he leaves in his guitar playing, but it’s also [...]

Continue reading "Album Review: Guy Clark – Somedays the Song Writes You"

The Band of Heathens has taken something of an unorthodox approach in its ascent to Americana notoriety. The Austin-based quintet made two live records and amassed a legion of fans before releasing its self-titled debut in 2008. Now, the band is back with its second effort, One Foot in the Ether.
Fans of Cross Canadian [...]

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On Stupid Love, Mindy smith has one boot planted squarely in country and a high heel in pop, and you can imagine how hard it would be for her to walk around like that. Jettisoning the largely acoustic arrangements of her previous albums, her third full-length (not counting that Christmas record) emphasizes a studio-tweaked [...]

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Jason Aldean should be afraid—very, very afraid.
On Justin Moore’s self-titled debut album, the Poyen, Arkansas (Population: 272) native effectively out Jason Aldeans Aldean himself, pulling off his brand of twangy, down-on-the-farm roots and rock influences with a country authenticity more capably than any other country up-and-comer at the moment.
Moore, who co-wrote nine of the [...]

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It is inevitable that all dual-gender vocal harmony groups will be compared to Fleetwood Mac. Those comparisons, of course, are often fueled by the artists themselves–in interviews and bios they routinely cite the hippie-era pop group as a primary influence. That a given band contains boys and girls who blend their voices together in order [...]

Continue reading "Album Review: Gloriana – Gloriana"

If your name is Griffey, chances are you’re a ballplayer. Kennedy? You’re a politician. And if your last name is Tubb, well, your legacy lies with country music. In addition to patriarch Ernest, Justin, Billy Lee, (aka X. Lincoln), and Glenn Douglas are a few members of the Tubb clan who’ve worked in the family [...]

Continue reading "Album Review: Lucky Tubb – Damn The Luck"

“If you don’t want a wild one, quit hangin’ round with me/You knew right from the start that’s my personality/If you can’t handle crazy, go ahead and leave.”
Sound advice from Those Darlins, who burst on to the scene in 2009, having opened for The Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach. They subsequently captivated the masses at [...]

Continue reading "Album Review: Those Darlins – Those Darlins"