Mark Waterman

Americana music has long suffered from an existential split. Purists long for the days of the Bakersfield sound of Merle Haggard and Buck Owens but can only stand by and watch as Toby Keith and Tim McGraw top the charts and stake their own claims as representatives of real American music. However, the lines are not always so clearly drawn. Recently, popular bands have started to incorporate the sounds of Americana, blues, and bluegrass, with the traditional stylings taking on new and different forms. Frat boys all over have grown fond of Old Crow Medicine Show, and chances are you’ve heard a few songs from Mumford & Sons.

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Having officially released their first album just one day before, Middle Brother could not rely on a dedicated fan base to pack the house at the 9:30 Club on Wednesday night. But, even though most people may not have known every word to every song, the buzz generated by the side-project of Delta Spirit’s Matt Vasquez, Deer Tick’ s John McCauley, and Dawes’s Taylor Goldsmith was plenty to draw a crowd in the middle of the week. McCauley and Goldsmith both pulled double duty opening with their own bands, but it didn’t take long for the band-name barriers to break down into a Last Waltz-esque indie folk free for all.

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To be honest, I am immediately dubious of any band with a 7” EP called “King Corpse.” Something about a name like that brings to mind disturbing thoughts of death metal and the scary existence of bands like this. But listening to the Lil’ Daggers teaser of an EP, I was once again reminded not to judge a book by its cover. Read More »

“I don’t need any guide, I already know the way,” sings Wanda Jackson in her cover of “Thunder on the Mountain.” But one wonders if Jackson didn’t crack a smile at the utterance of Dylan’s words. After all, Jack White, who has somewhat of a penchant for reviving the careers of aging starlets (like Loretta Lynn’s in 2004), was unequivocally the driving force behind Jackson’s most recent release: The Party Ain’t Over. White not only chose the songs for the album but also gathered up a troupe of talented musicians in his Nashville studio to give Jackson’s voice the backing support it deserves. The resulting effort nicely showcases Jackson’s talents and solidifies her place in history. Read More »

Nowadays, the phrase “country music” almost always brings to mind images of Toby Keith singing pop tunes in an exaggerated southern drawl on a stage draped in American flags. Real Americana music has suffered at the expense of wildly popular “Cashville” artists. However, after their 2008 debut, Don’t Be a Stranger, Seattle band The Moondoggies appeared well qualified to serve as Americana standard-bearers for the 21^st century. The album, 54 minutes of fun, features an impressive mix of country rockers, Americana ballads, and blues tunes.

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by Mark Waterman

Michael Chabon, musing on the possibility of a totally original novel, said that “All novels are sequels; influence is bliss.” The same is true in the world of music. This review will not be able to tell you whether or not Jaill’s new album sounds like The Soft Pack has a crush on XTC, or of what it is “reminiscent.” Nor will it contain a lengthy analysis (with spreadsheets and percentages) that charts the band’s influences from their toddler days, when they were big into Raffi to their teenage years spent idolizing Joe Strummer. This review is, in fact, significantly more concerned with how the name of the band is pronounced (I alternately envision the word ‘jail’ pronounced with a Southern drawl or a Jamaican saying ‘ja! ill!’) and the fact that one of the members is named Ryan Adams. Read More »