WEDNESDAY JUL 19, 2017
Dougie Poole
On his Bandcamp page, Dougie Poole tags his upcoming record under both “country” and “not country.” It's paradoxical, yes, but the Brooklyn artist doesn't seem conflicted over his musical identity. Rather, he is refreshingly grounded in the reality of our time. “When I was making this record I was wondering a lot about tradition,” Poole wrote in an email to The FADER. “How do feelings of grief and loneliness become complicated by crazy new technology? How does country, this American tradition of reflective and self-aware music, become complicated by our deepening understanding of the parallel American traditions of violence, theft, and exclusion?” With the amazingly titled Wideass Highway, Poole has managed to bring a genre whose dismissal is so common it’s cliched — “anything but country” — into a contemporary space (see cosmic cowboy Sturgill Simpson for another recent-ish example of this feat). Poole's warbling strings feel familiar, but his rickety production and pensive lyrics articulate a generational self-consciousness that lends the album a modern authenticity. “Part of what was initially appealing to me about making country music was its earnestness and simplicity," Poole went on to explain. "But the more I work at it, the more it seems like there's a lot of pretty heavy stuff to unpack.” -The Fader
On his Bandcamp page, Dougie Poole tags his upcoming record under both “country” and “not country.” It's paradoxical, yes, but the Brooklyn artist doesn't seem conflicted over his musical identity. Rather, he is refreshingly grounded in the reality of our time. “When I was making this record I was wondering a lot about tradition,” Poole wrote in an email to The FADER. “How do feelings of grief and loneliness become complicated by crazy new technology? How does country, this American tradition of reflective and self-aware music, become complicated by our deepening understanding of the parallel American traditions of violence, theft, and exclusion?” With the amazingly titled Wideass Highway, Poole has managed to bring a genre whose dismissal is so common it’s cliched — “anything but country” — into a contemporary space (see cosmic cowboy Sturgill Simpson for another recent-ish example of this feat). Poole's warbling strings feel familiar, but his rickety production and pensive lyrics articulate a generational self-consciousness that lends the album a modern authenticity. “Part of what was initially appealing to me about making country music was its earnestness and simplicity," Poole went on to explain. "But the more I work at it, the more it seems like there's a lot of pretty heavy stuff to unpack.” -The Fader
Cuntry
"Don’t be fooled by the lazy genre descriptors or the pun-y moniker, Cuntry are neither especially quiet nor tame and they certainly aren’t a joke. Songs flow in distinct movements from hushed and understated to a kind of brooding punk aggression where every note and sound is poured through a distinct Southern filter. You know those streaks of silver and black that collide when lightning cuts through a storm cloud? Think that but, you know, in song form." -Immersive Atlanta
"Don’t be fooled by the lazy genre descriptors or the pun-y moniker, Cuntry are neither especially quiet nor tame and they certainly aren’t a joke. Songs flow in distinct movements from hushed and understated to a kind of brooding punk aggression where every note and sound is poured through a distinct Southern filter. You know those streaks of silver and black that collide when lightning cuts through a storm cloud? Think that but, you know, in song form." -Immersive Atlanta
Sad Fish
Rose Hotel
Within Rose Hotel, multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Jordan Reynolds weaves a tapestry of nuanced indie-rock songcraft that pulls from a palette of psychedelic shimmer and folk influence via her Southeastern roots. Where her 2019 debut 'I Will Only Come When It’s a Yes' presented a coming-of-age tale, 'A Pawn Surrender', her forthcoming sophomore album nourishes the garden of adulthood with a cohesive but genre-spanning approach.
Within Rose Hotel, multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Jordan Reynolds weaves a tapestry of nuanced indie-rock songcraft that pulls from a palette of psychedelic shimmer and folk influence via her Southeastern roots. Where her 2019 debut 'I Will Only Come When It’s a Yes' presented a coming-of-age tale, 'A Pawn Surrender', her forthcoming sophomore album nourishes the garden of adulthood with a cohesive but genre-spanning approach.