country music

Too bombastic to be country music: Post Malone’s F-1 Trillion reviewed

24 August 2024 9:00 am

Grade: B Country music has become the acceptable route through which American pop stars resuscitate their floundering careers: sales are…

The weird, hypnotic world of Willie Nelson

25 May 2024 9:00 am

Many years ago, I wrote a book about Willie Nelson. At its conclusion, I reached for an elegiac, valedictory tone.…

The unstoppable rise of country music

25 May 2024 9:00 am

When a major artist releases a new album, the first thing to follow is the onslaught of think pieces. And…

Adrianne Lenker is a treasure for the ages

4 May 2024 9:00 am

You could very well sum up their differing approaches to American roots music from how they were dressed. Both wore…

Brilliantly unhinged: Grace Jones, at Hampton Court Palace, reviewed

17 June 2023 9:00 am

Some artists need flash bombs to make an impression on stage. Some need giant screens. Some need to run around…

In defence of country-pop

30 July 2022 9:00 am

Sam Kriss on why country-pop is the most modern music there is

Lovely and wistful: Neil Young and Crazy Horse's Barn reviewed

15 January 2022 9:00 am

 Grade: A I have persisted in buying everything Neil Young releases since I first heard On the Beach as a…

Dolly Parton represents all that’s best about America

16 January 2021 9:00 am

Dolly Parton is the living embodiment of America’s best values, says Philip Hensher

Livestream-hopping is just as irritating as being at a real festival

2 May 2020 9:00 am

The ghost of Samuel Beckett oversaw the Hip Hop Loves NY livestream last Thursday night. Time and time again its…

Imagine ZZ Top stuck in a lift with Gary Numan: Sturgill Simpson’s Sound & Fury reviewed

12 October 2019 9:00 am

Grade: A– The outlaw country genre has shifted a little over the decades since Waylon and Willie, with each proponent…

It made me want to go to sleep and never wake up: Vampire Weekend’s Father of the Bride

11 May 2019 9:00 am

Grade: B– One of the things not to like about Vampire Weekend, other than their cloying preppiness, Ezra Koenig’s ingratiating…