Americana
Desi rap, deep jungle and truck-stop concrète: five-star albums you may have missed this year
From Jordana’s sprightly soft rock to Pataka Boys’ collagist UK-Punjabi hip-hop, our writers pick their must-listen gems from 2024
Ben Beaumont-Thomas, Claire Biddles, Shaad D'Souza, Jennifer Lucy Allan, Adrian Horton, Tara Joshi, Lauren Martin, Alexis Petridis, Will Pritchard, Dave Simpson, Laura Snapes and Daniel Dylan Wray
27, Dec, 2024 @11:30 AM
The 50 best albums of 2024: No 4 – Clairo: Charm
The singer-songwriter’s best album yet conjures low-lit jazz bars with swelling, sultry songs of attraction and desire, fleshed out with flurries of brass and vintage Wurlitzers
Katie Hawthorne
17, Dec, 2024 @2:00 PM
The 20 best songs of 2024
Here are the year’s most outstanding tracks – from Fontaines DC to Beyoncé via Kendrick Lamar – as voted for by 26 Guardian music writers
Ben Beaumont-Thomas and Laura Snapes
06, Dec, 2024 @6:00 AM
Silkroad Ensemble With Rhiannon Giddens: American Railroad review – homage to a forgotten army of workers
The collective and their artistic director’s classy multimedia project highlights the lives lost and land snatched away in building the US transcontinental railroad
Neil Spencer
22, Nov, 2024 @12:00 PM
Willie Watson: Willie Watson review – a former hell-raiser finds his voice
Known for his versions of old American folk, the singer finally puts his extraordinary voice at the service of his own material
Neil Spencer
27, Sep, 2024 @11:00 AM
Gillian Welch and David Rawlings: Woodland review – 10 exquisite songs of loss and love
Named after their Nashville studio, hit by a tornado in 2020, the duo’s first album together in 13 years picks its impeccable, old-time way through personal and social upheaval
Kitty Empire
17, Aug, 2024 @1:00 PM
Americana icon Gillian Welch: ‘Bob Dylan walking on to our version of Billy put a smile on my face’
Back with a new album, the singer-songwriter answers your questions on the Coen brothers, John Paul Jones, and having David Cameron as a fan
As told to Dave Simpson
08, Aug, 2024 @2:00 PM
Post your questions for Gillian Welch
On the cusp of a new album with long-term collaborator and partner David Rawlings, the Americana icon will answer your pressing enquiries
Laura Snapes
02, Aug, 2024 @1:18 PM
Waxahatchee review – warm, rousing anthems about embracing change
Katie Crutchfield and her band bask in a rolling sound with smoky twangs and divine harmonies, creating affinity among her fans by leaning into the lessons of mid-30s life
Laura Snapes
26, Jul, 2024 @12:02 PM
Kaia Kater: Strange Medicine review – Canadian banjo virtuoso packs a powerful punch
The Canadian-Grenadian singer-songwriter’s phenomenal playing underscores strongly personal and political themes on her superb fourth album
Neil Spencer
25, May, 2024 @3:00 PM
One to watch: Myles Smith
A passionate purveyor of anthemic folk-pop with an alt-country vibe, everything this Luton singer-songwriter has released so far sounds like a hit
Damien Morris
18, May, 2024 @11:30 AM
T Bone Burnett: The Other Side review – a radiant meditation
Inspired by new guitars, and with guest spots from Roseanne Cash and more, the US producer-musician contemplates love and mortality
Neil Spencer
27, Apr, 2024 @3:00 PM
1 / 76 pages