Alt-country singers living the Americana dream

New albums from five acts show a genre thriving on the best US influences, says Gerry Quinn

LAST August, Merriam-Webster announced the inclusion of ‘Americana’ in their collegiate dictionary, defining it as “a genre of American music having roots in early folk and country music.” Referred to as ‘alt-country’, as a radio format the genre developed in North America in the 1990s to describe artists who didn’t fit into either country or rock styles. Artists such as Wilco, Ryan Adams, Gillian Welch, and Drive-By Truckers embraced the moniker, forging a path for performers inspired by the varied traditions of American music. Albums due for release in January by five acts show that Americana represents the freshest and most relevant sounds from across the Atlantic.

Canadians Madison Violet’s fourth album is The Good in Goodbye (True North Records). The Juno-nominated duo of Brenley MacEachern and Lisa MacIsaac (sister of fiddler Ashley MacIsaac) present 11 polished, folk-inspired songs, underlined by perfect harmonies and luscious melodies. Fallen By The Wayside — penned with compatriot Ron Sexsmith — and the title track are performances of cool assurance and earthy authority. Come As You Are employs a slow southern-rock type tempo, guided and nurtured by a deft Neil Young-style harmonica. Cindy, Cindy is propelled by a sweet bluegrass banjo and features backing vocals from Ruth Moody, who delivers her own first full-length solo record, The Garden (Red House Records), on January 16. A member of the Billboard-charting folk super-group, The Wailin’ Jennys, the Winnipeg-reared singer jettisons the band safety net to introduce her blend of folk and country. She and her cast of players fashion a dozen intimate tracks of sublime beauty, highlighted by a breathy, evocative soprano voice.

Moody’s vocal delivery and phrasing is reminiscent of Alison Krauss, a voice rich in personality. Moody’s an adept instrumentalist, playing guitar, banjo, piano, ukulele and accordion. Producer David Travers-Smith creates a warm and intimate setting on the record for Moody’s intensely personal narratives. The Garden is a perfect introduction to Moody’s soulful expression of restrained beauty.

Lincoln Durham may not radiate Moody’s musical beauty but his CD, The Shovel vs The Howling Bones, is a compelling mix of floor-stomping roots-rock, utilising old-fashioned analogue recording values that include stomp boards, 1950s amps, tin-can microphones and acoustic slide guitar. A young man with the soul of an old bluesman, Durham’s earthy and earnest voice perfectly fits and shapes his vision of Americana. Winning the Texas State Youth Fiddle Championship at the age of ten, Durham exchanged his fiddle for a Gibson acoustic guitar, complete with distorted pick-ups, to create a distinctive resonance. On this, his first full-length album, Durham exhibits a natural flair for swampy, blues-inspired slide-guitar rock’n’roll.

Nashville-based Amelia White releases her latest record, Beautiful and Wild, on January 23. A mature and gifted singer-songwriter, White mixes elements of ‘60s pop, country and soul into a wandering but satisfying album. White conjures up dreamy melodies, and much of Beautiful and Wild locks into a Nick Lowe-like country/soul groove. Mercy, a duet with AJ Croce, wouldn’t sound out of place on a Mavis Staples record.

Although hailing from Canada, Cam Penner is well-known on this side of the Atlantic, having toured Europe with The Bastard Sons of Johnny Cash. Penner’s fourth release, Gypsy Summer, due out on January 23, is an appealing dollop of Americana. Eleven personal stories, inspired by his past running a soup kitchen in Chicago and working with the homeless in Canada, populate this superb disc. Despite the subject, this is not a downbeat or depressing record. It’s buoyant, with layered textures complementing an amiable and emotive voice.