I know its only one month in but there seems to be a countrified roots rock feel to the music being released in early 2006 with Cat Power, The Elected, and Jason Collett to name a few...

Is it too early to tell?

I just listened to the Jenny Lewis album... there's nothing alt. about it, it's plain country. And uninspired.

I think (hope) it's just happenstance right now.

You may be right. Neko Case has an album coming out later this year, too.

You could make a case that, over the past few years, a lot of innovative music has been drifting in the "alt-country" direction, with Wilco, Califone, Neko Case, Drive-By-Truckers, Laura Cantrell, Jim White and Okkervil River all releasing well-received alt-country albums. But these years have also been about power-pop (e.g., The New Pornographers, The Shins), innovative electronic music (e.g., Isolee, M83), folk-rock (e.g., Sufjan Stevens), Canadian rock (e.g., The Arcade Fire, Wolf Parade), even thesaurus rock (The Decemberists). All these labels are true, to some extent.

I think the most intriguing trend of the past year is the rise of the "Dream Collaboration," i.e., when two well-regarded artists combine to make a single album. In the past few years and upcoming this year, we've seen some great "Dream Collaborations," such as:

[LIST] Iron & Wine + Calexico
[LIST] Bonnie 'Prince' Billy + Matt Sweeny
[LIST] The Madvillan and DangerDoom albums
[LIST] The upcoming album from Jack White and Brenden Benson
[LIST] The upcoming Gnarles Barkley album (DangerMouse + Cee-Lo)

There's always been some cross-pollination between artists (e.g., one artist contributing vocals or a guitar line to the song of another artist, supergroups, hip-hop or R & B songs "featuring" another artist, often a rapper), but I've rarely seen so many full album collaborations between artists operating under their own names as I do these days. If such "Dream Collaborations" are, in fact, a trend (and, admittedly, it might be more wishful thinking on my part than a proper trend), especially if it's a trend borne of the increasing cohesiveness of the indie-rock community, it's an exciting trend. Even if some of these collaborations yield less than ideal results -- e.g., Tortoise + Bonnie "Prince" Billy's new album, which has a low METACRITIC score -- the creative possibilities are amazing. Just consider the possible powerhouse combinations one could envision:

[LIST] Neko Case + Richard Hawley (contrasting harmonies)
[LIST] Neko Case + Jim James (My Morning Jacket) (soaring harmonies)
[LIST] Craig Finn (The Hold Steady) + Collin Melloy (The Decemberists) (searing lyrics)
[LIST] Sufjan Stevens + Britt Daniels (Spoon)
[LIST] Sufjan Stevens + Sam Beam (Iron & Wine)

The permutations are endless, and endlessly interesting. Some play strength-off-strength; others use one artist's strength to give another artist's sound or lyrics a welcome jolt. I wonder what intriguing combinations other participants in this forum could come up with.

Maybe the country/indie sound is something more specific to 2006, but I've been buying alt-country/americana records for the last 15 years that have the 'organic' sound.

It seems to be a reasonable move for the indie kids...last year was indie folk (the Devendra-related stuff, Sufjan, Iron and Wine's new discs) so the indie stars go country is not a big step. Conor Oberst did it last year with one of his records...he even got Emmylou Harris to participate!

The Elected's first record sounds the same as the new one to these ears, so maybe they were ahead of their time.

Rocky Votolato's new one, Makers, also has a laid back alt-country vibe to it. I guess this bodes well for me since I like that stuff. I couldn't stand most of the indie folk stuff from last year...

i think we're all looking forward to radiohead's first country album.

...but Yhorke doesn't have a country-style voice

quote:

Originally posted by HellaHellaHella:
i think we're all looking forward to radiohead's first country album.

Nahh. I heard their next album is gonna be reggae.

I'm a huge fan of the organic/country sound some may call Alt-country, anti-folk whatever but to me it's old timey, organic instrumentation without the bleeps and samples, lots of Pedal Steel, acoustic guitars, banjo's, harmonica's, mandolin's all the usual organic instruments used in organic albums made by artists who like the organic sound and to me, alt-country/anti-folk etc seem to fall mostly in that category.

There is lots of good stuff coming out in the short while in this category;

Calexico
the Court and Spark
Neko Case
Mojave 3 (I think they are a fair bit organic)
Centro-Matic
Drive By Truckers
Haley Bonar
Jennie Stearns
Last Town Chorus
Trespassers William
Kris Kristofferson
Richard Buckner
Jason Molina/Magnolia Electric
Damien Jurado
The Pines (Great new band out of Minneapolis)
Golden Smog

...to name a few, I know I am missing a bunch. This year is looking good for that organic/country/alt-country/anti-folk/neo-folk genre, IMO.

BTW, any news on CALIFONE?

I haven't heard any news from Califone in a long time. I wonder what's up with them. I thought their last record was a bit of a disappointment (I mean what in the hell was that title track all about?), but I'm still anticipating their next release.

Anyhow, you can add Espers to the list of good folk bands with a record coming out.

I've heard good things on the latest Espers album. You should check out The Pines http://www.thepinesmusic.com their debut is an album that has most certainly slipped under the radar. 2006 is a busy year for them, one half of the Pines leadership Benson Ramsey has a solo cd coming out this month http://www.bensonramsey.com the Pines have an EP of traditional covers and a sophomore Pines album is expected out later this year. They are a band to watch.

The Band of Horses debut is something to look forward to as well, coming out in March http://www.bandofhorses.com/ . They are ex-members of Carissa's Weird. They've got a bit of a My Morning Jacket thing going on, but more organic Neil Young instead of the pop direction that MMJ is heading in. They toured with Iron and Wine.

Ox out of Vancouver have a new one, I think two albums coming out very soon. http://oxmusic.ws/

Peace

quote:

Originally posted by RavingLunatic:

quote:

Originally posted by HellaHellaHella:
i think we're all looking forward to radiohead's first country album.

Nahh. I heard their next album is gonna be reggae.

They could come out with a show tunes record and still get a 10 from richdork

I can't help but wonder if pop/rock music is sounding more country, or country is sounding more pop. I lean toward the latter.

quote:

They could come out with a show tunes record and still get a 10 from richdork

Nah - I think they're just chomping at the bit for a chance to lead the backlash against r-head when they show the first sign of weakness. Hail to the thief's 9.3 was only the first sign of radiohead's fall from grace. Public opinion has a tendency to oscillate like that.

9.3 does not ever equal fall from grace.

I think the country/folk that the indie scene gets wind of tends to be more rock/poppy, because whenever I turn to CMT, I'm repulsed.

Trivia: Neko Case was born and raised where I currently live. Weird.

quote:

Originally posted by vitunkrapula:
Hail to the thief's 9.3 was only the first sign of radiohead's fall from grace.

A 9.3 rating is the beginning of a fall from grace? That's hard to believe, given that Pitchfork loved The New Pornographer's Twin Cinema, The Knife's Silent Shout, and Destroyer's Rubies, and those albums received ratings of 9.0, 8.6 and 8.5, respectively.

Frankly, I didn't understand why Pitchfork -- or anyone else -- loved HTTT so much. Aside from "There, There," I thought the album was unmemorable. Then again, I don't understand the passion for Radiohead. I liked OK Computer well enough, but I almost never have a desire to listen to it. I think (for me, at least) Radiohead is easier to admire than to love.

quote:

Originally posted by Marlon:
I've heard good things on the latest Espers album. You should check out The Pines http://www.thepinesmusic.com their debut is an album that has most certainly slipped under the radar. 2006 is a busy year for them, one half of the Pines leadership Benson Ramsey has a solo cd coming out this month http://www.bensonramsey.com the Pines have an EP of traditional covers and a sophomore Pines album is expected out later this year. They are a band to watch.

Peace

After one listen this one sounds excellent. Nothing too groundbreaking, just very good alt-country. The only thing is, I don't think I'm gonna put it on my 2006 list because it originally came out in 2004.

quote:

Originally posted by HellaHellaHella:
i think we're all looking forward to radiohead's first country album.

If "I Am A Wicked Child" was any indication...

As for the guy saying "richdork," ha ha you are such a clever boy let me subscribe to your newsletter.

And yeah, seems like indie + country was the order of the day this year. An odd trend, but not altogether unexpected I suppose. pE and Daniel, Esq. described this pretty well.

quote:

Originally posted by RavingLunatic:

quote:

Originally posted by Marlon:
I've heard good things on the latest Espers album. You should check out The Pines http://www.thepinesmusic.com their debut is an album that has most certainly slipped under the radar. 2006 is a busy year for them, one half of the Pines leadership Benson Ramsey has a solo cd coming out this month http://www.bensonramsey.com the Pines have an EP of traditional covers and a sophomore Pines album is expected out later this year. They are a band to watch.

Peace

After one listen this one sounds excellent. Nothing too groundbreaking, just very good alt-country. The only thing is, I don't think I'm gonna put it on my 2006 list because it originally came out in 2004.

Hey Raving, I don't think I mentioned the Pines album to be a 2006 release, me bad for not being clear. Their sophomore release is due early 2007, can't wait. Their self-titled debut album has been one of the most played albums in our household over the last 2 years. It's a shame that their debut has slipped under the radar. The album is pretty much a solid cohesive listen from beginning to end. They have a similar vibe to another Northern Mid-west band in Bellwether. The Pines is made up of two guys and apparently one of them Benson Ramsey has a solo album out, or is coming out. Benson Ramsey is the son of Bo Ramsey, another alt-country type legend. Actually, I can't remember which one is which, Bo the son or father.

Glad you're liking the Pines. It's a great Dreary weathered Fall listen. You should definitely check out Bellwether's Home Late if you like that one or Richmond Fontaine's Winnemucca.

quote:

Originally posted by Marlon:

quote:

Originally posted by RavingLunatic:

quote:

Originally posted by Marlon:
I've heard good things on the latest Espers album. You should check out The Pines http://www.thepinesmusic.com their debut is an album that has most certainly slipped under the radar. 2006 is a busy year for them, one half of the Pines leadership Benson Ramsey has a solo cd coming out this month http://www.bensonramsey.com the Pines have an EP of traditional covers and a sophomore Pines album is expected out later this year. They are a band to watch.

Peace

After one listen this one sounds excellent. Nothing too groundbreaking, just very good alt-country. The only thing is, I don't think I'm gonna put it on my 2006 list because it originally came out in 2004.

Hey Raving, I don't think I mentioned the Pines album to be a 2006 release, me bad for not being clear. Their sophomore release is due early 2007, can't wait. Their self-titled debut album has been one of the most played albums in our household over the last 2 years. It's a shame that their debut has slipped under the radar. The album is pretty much a solid cohesive listen from beginning to end. They have a similar vibe to another Northern Mid-west band in Bellwether. The Pines is made up of two guys and apparently one of them Benson Ramsey has a solo album out, or is coming out. Benson Ramsey is the son of Bo Ramsey, another alt-country type legend. Actually, I can't remember which one is which, Bo the son or father.

Glad you're liking the Pines. It's a great Dreary weathered Fall listen. You should definitely check out Bellwether's Home Late if you like that one or Richmond Fontaine's Winnemucca.

nice to see The Pines geting some attention this is a really nice album, I guess the Bo Ramsey blood/production helps ;-)

Bo is the father

the new Bellwether the Stinging nettles is also climbing on my best of 2006 list. I didnt heard Home late tho, only Seven and six

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