http://www.okgazette.com/oklahoma/articles.sec-54-1-country.html Sincerity is nearly dead in songwriting. The image of the earnest singer with eyes tightly shut and a crack in his voice as he plunges to emotional depths has become a joke. ]]> When something really catches my ear, I tend to imagine it in the closing credits of a movie, and then I work backward, formulating a plot and actors. “Never Gonna Be Enough,” the opening track on Red Dirt rockers No Justice’s latest, America's Son, had me doing that within 10 seconds.]]> Sometimes, irony can come back to bite you on the ass.
]]> Few musicians ever get the chance to forge their own path, blazing musical territory previously unexplored. Stillwater singer-songwriter Jimmy LaFave is one of them, helping etch out a place for the Red Dirt genre within the scope of American music.]]> Just a few minutes into Incommunicado, it becomes painfully obvious that Oklahoma native Chad Sullins knows his Red Dirt, country, classic rock and blues, and he blends them into the perfect barn-party soundtrack. The album plays like The Hangover set in Stillwater instead of Vegas, with all the emotions, amusement and reflections therein.]]> On Goodbye Normal Street, their third full-length album, Turnpike Troubadours serve up a potent brew of country, bluegrass, folk and even Creole (just to kick it up a notch). The quintet from Stillwater produces music that’s straightforward and simple, but hardly simplistic.]]> Carter Sampson’s voice and subject matter are too sweet to get lumped in with those rough ’n’ tumble Red Dirt boys, but instrumentally, her “Mockingbird Sing” isn’t far off.]]> “Down the Hatch” is an important debut release for more than just the duo of Gabriel Marshall and Bryon White, who go by The Damn Quails. It’s indie label 598 Recordings’ (Chance Sparkman and Mike McClure) first long player, and a product of a prodigious amount of homegrown talent.]]> As if the man born Hiram King Williams’ influence on country music (and all subsequently affected genres, particularly rock ’n’ roll) wasn’t already completely obvious and seminal, the long-dead crooner had to go and scribble a bunch more terrific songs about heartbreak and loneliness into his diary, just to remind us of his ownership of the subject matter even generations after he died.]]> The Point Blank Band is a tight unit, as each member contributes to its hot country sound. The title track and opener features great bass and guitar work, a neat fiddle part, and Mike Novotny’s welcoming vocals, which deliver memorable, ear-catching melodies. ]]> Carrie Rodriguez and Ben Kyle’s “We Still Love Our Country” follows a very simple formula: Beautiful female vocals + easygoing male vocals + country standards + gentle acoustic-based accompaniment = an album of duets that’s an absolute gem, because they found an excellent plan and stuck with it for a wonderful half-hour. ]]> Oklahoma City’s The Workweek follows The Jayhawks and Wilco in making the lines between folk, country and rock negligible on its debut release, “Promises, Promises.”]]> Average must be the most frustrating thing to be labeled.
]]> At this point, Alison Krauss is impervious to criticism.]]> Mark Growden’s 2010 release, “Saint Judas,” saw him comfortably in mournful, New Orleans jazz mode.
]]> Kerri Arista’s “50 Different Ways” is a solid acoustic country/pop album all the way through.
]]> Aaron Lewis is not just some guy. He’s the lead singer of Staind.
]]> Jack Rowdy’s self-titled album features a diverse array of subgenres within modern country. ]]>