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Alternative country (commonly abbreviated to alt-country; [1] also known as alternative country rock, [2] insurgent country, [3] Americana, or y'allternative [4]) is a loosely defined subgenre of country music and/or country rock that includes acts that differ significantly in style from mainstream country music, mainstream country rock, and ...
- Uncle Tupelo – Anodyne (1993) The last entry in the band’s catalog before Jeff Tweedy and Jay Farrar parted ways saw the band at its most fully realized.
- Lucinda Williams – Car Wheels on a Gravel Road (1998) Up until this album Lucinda Williams was primarily known for her songwriting, earning a Grammy for Best Country Song with Mary Chapin Carpenter’s crossover hit “Passionate Kisses.”
- Gillian Welch – Revival (1996) Gillian Welch and her musical partner may have hailed from Los Angeles and Rhode Island, respectively, but they arrived on the alt-country scene in 1996 as if they’d just melted out of Depression-era Appalachian Mountain ice.
- Son Volt – Trace (1995) Long before there was Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, it looked like Jay Farrar was the genius behind Uncle Tupelo, as Trace was a near-perfect collection of laid-back alt-country ballads like the brilliant windows-rolled-down “Windfall” and guitar-charged college rockers like lead single “Drown.”
In contrast to alternative country, which pushes the boundaries of country music from the inside, alternative country-rock is music made by outsiders who love the sound and spirit of country. They faithfully preserve traditional sounds, but reinterpret the spirit in personal, contemporary, and idiosyncratic ways that rarely appeal to straight ...
- Rank and File – “Amanda Ruth” (1982) One of the first bands to bear the descriptor “cowpunk,” Rank and File also had pedigrees in actual punk. Brothers Chip and Tony Kinman were in The Dils, a California band that had tight, Everly-like harmonies which were unusual in their genre.
- Meat Puppets – “Plateau” (1984) The resident cowpunks on the SST roster in the 1980s, Arizona’s Meat Puppet’s nonetheless translated their country and western influences through a hardcore filter on their debut album.
- Lone Justice – “Ways to Be Wicked” (1985) Maria McKee had a commanding stage presence, a ferocious energy, and a voice that bore a resemblance to one of her earliest supporters, Dolly Parton.
- Mekons – “Hard to Be Human Again” (1985) On paper it might not seem likely that a post-punk group from the same Leeds scene as Gang of Four and Au Pairs would end up recording one of the first great alt-country records.
Jul 8, 2024 · Alt-country stretches far beyond Nashville’s polished twang. Emerging in the 1980s, is a sprawling landscape where classic country elements mingle with rock, punk, and even folk. Here’s a look at the best alternative-country bands pushing the boundaries of the genre so far in 2024.
Jun 9, 2021 · Alternative country or alt-country, a subgenre of country music, has found resonance with fans of alternative and indie rock.
It helped birth a sound that borrowed from the cowpunk of prior decades but explored country’s folk traditionalism. As the name suggests, alt-country embraces the outsiders—Lucinda Williams’ haunted poetry, Neko Case’s lonesome howl, and Steve Earle’s lived-in tunes are all lodestars of the sound.
