Admiral Radio – “Cotton Candy Sky”
-It’s hard to beat a classic love song. This is a track that is deeply rooted in country tradition. You can hear it in the line about “hard times coming.” The easy going chord work on the track feels familiar, like you’ve heard it before but you can’t quite put your finger on it. This is what the great folk and country tradition is all about; it’s an amalgam of other sounds and influences, some that go back to the old country or up in the mountains. Admiral Radio bring all of that together with charming vocal harmonies and timeless composition style, creating an endearing sound. I’ve often thought of spinning off a separate site to feature Americana music and this song is exactly why I’d like to that; I’d love to have a space dedicated to this sound. It fills the old heart up to overflowing.
Kalyn Beasley – “Had To Go There”
-I try to tell people all the time that the sound of “modern Americana” we feature has a bit of a gritty edge. This song captures that sentiment exactly right. It’s not just that the guitars have some bite to them; it’s more of a mood and ethos to the music. This track would mix in well with work from Jason Isbell or David Ramirez and not skip a beat. That’s the type of thing we’re looking for from modern Americana. I appreciate the quality of the vocal, the full-throated rock mix on the production, and the way the track sits right in the middle ground of country and rock, befitting the alt country label. This one will get the bar hopping. Put it on your playlist or throw it on the jukebox and see how your friends respond. I bet they’ll dig this one!
West Texas Exiles – “Division”
-The lead singer of the West Texas Exiles sounds so much like Jesse Welles that I had to look it up to be sure; it’s not Welles, but rather a talented artist named Marco Gutierrez. Nevertheless, the sound is excellent here. It combines elements of country and folk for an upbeat, engaging type of Americana music. The fact that it’s hard to pin down a specific style is precisely why it fits Americana so well. There are definitely some Texas influences (a little western swing in there), but it also has some timeless folksy harmony work that is worth its own shout. The line about division being “exhaustion from the years we fought” holds a lot of weight. While this is ostensibly about a specific relationship, I think it holds some water for the national level as well. There will come a time when we look back on the brokenness as a missed opportunity. This is a great tune well worth your consideration.
Image courtesy: Admiral Radio IG
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