Americana

Pokey LaFarge: In the Blossom of Their Shade review – all kinds of breezy Americana

Surf guitars, R&B and cod-Caribbean sunshine combine in this upbeat response to lockdown

Neil Spencer

09, Oct, 2021 @3:00 PM

Steve Gunn: Other You review – more elegant, cosmic Americana

The guitarist’s immaculate playing is beyond doubt, but his latest solo work is a little too meandering

Phil Mongredien

29, Aug, 2021 @12:00 PM

Trippers & Askers: Acorn review – delicate, literate Americana

This US collective impress with a subtle, ambient debut inspired by Octavia Butler’s Parable of the Sower

Neil Spencer

31, Jul, 2021 @3:00 PM

‘Odd, free and uninhibited’: Karen Black, Hollywood’s great singer-actor

She worked with Jack Nicholson, Robert Altman and more – and had a sideline in spectral, beautiful songwriting. As her lost songs are released, those close to Karen Black remember her

Andrew Male

19, Jul, 2021 @11:43 AM

Brittany Howard: ‘I think back and I can’t even recognise that kid now’

Continuing our series where stars recall their teenage obsessions, the Alabama Shakes frontwoman remembers fishing, home recording and leftfield spirituality

As told to Stephanie Phillips

01, Jul, 2021 @1:56 PM

Hiss Golden Messenger: Quietly Blowing It review – a gentle kind of protest music

MC Taylor offers up soulful Dylan-esque country rockers about the impact of the system on ordinary lives

Dave Simpson

25, Jun, 2021 @7:30 AM

Gwenifer Raymond review – finger-picking good

The Welsh guitarist dazzles with awe-inspiring technique and her intense musicality

Kitty Empire

29, May, 2021 @1:00 PM

Lambchop: Showtunes review – American songwriting the slow and shimmering way

Kurt Wagner puts a midi keyboard centre stage on Lambchop’s expansive, laid-back latest

Kitty Empire

23, May, 2021 @8:00 AM

‘If not hope, then what?’: the musicians finding optimism in dark times

Against a backdrop of Covid, a striking number of musicians, from hard rock to jazz, made music rich with positivity. In the first of a two-part series, they tell their stories

Christine Ochefu, Dave Simpson and Laura Snapes

27, Apr, 2021 @7:23 AM

Pearl Charles: Magic Mirror review – LA singer's sugar and strife

Combining various soft rock touchstones, Charles’s new album sometimes veers into cloyingly sentimental pastiche

Alim Kheraj

15, Jan, 2021 @8:30 AM

Steve Earle and the Dukes: JT review – a father's fond farewell

Steve Earle reprises 10 songs by his son, the late Justin Townes Earle

Neil Spencer

26, Dec, 2020 @4:00 PM

The 50 best albums of 2020: the full list

Our countdown is complete, topped by a mercurial work of sprawling invention by a woman who has dug deep to survive. Taken as a whole, these choices contain drama, solace, poetry and fire, a fitting selection for a turbulent year

Ben Beaumont-Thomas and Laura Snapes

18, Dec, 2020 @8:07 AM