Jesse Harris - They're playing his song
A few hours before I'm supposed to meet Jesse Harris for an interview, I walk down to the deli on the corner of my block to pick up a couple things. The PA system in the store is tuned to the same light-rock station as usual, and
Everlast - White Trash Beautiful
Previous attempts to blend hip-hop and country-rock have ranged from the amusing (Kid Rock) to the embarrassing (Bubba Sparxxx), but now someone has finally done it right. There's nothing gimmicky about Everlast's new album; he's blending the genres not to be cute
Chuck Prophet - Age of Miracles
Like Joe Henry, onetime Green On Red stalwart Chuck Prophet has evolved since his alt-countryish beginnings into a refreshingly unlabel-able artist who, in mixing and matching genres, thrives on offbeat textures and carefully etched moods. One difference is that while Art has been whispering a little too loudly
Po' Girl - Vagabond Lullabies
Unlike Louisiana's po' boy -- an overstuffed sandwich that lingers in the memory -- Po' Girl is a trio of women with acoustic instruments and a bent for lyrical poetry. It's a sparse affair, with soft melodies drifting along warm harmonies that sound as if they&
Vassar Clements - Livin' with the Blues
Those familiar with Gatemouth Brown or black string bands such as the Mississippi Sheiks will recognize this album's concept. Though he has never recorded an all-out blues album and is largely known for his hillbilly jazz workouts, Clements, like every country or bluegrass fiddler worth his or
Kasey Chambers - Wayward Angel
The bouncy, bluesy jazz of the first track "Pony" notwithstanding, Wayward Angel finds Kasey Chambers, Australia's #1 import to Americana music in recent years, working pretty much the same territory as on her first two releases. That's a good thing, at least for the