NEW COUNTRY
If the phrase ‘country music’ instantly conjures up images of pickup trucks, good ol’ boys and songs about divorce for you, there’s now good cause for that opinion to be revised. Modern country music has shed whatever twangy, downbeat image it may have once had and been dragged bang up to date. High production values and levels of musicianship have always been key, blending guitars, piano, bass and drums with traditional country flavours such as banjo, lap, pedal steel and acoustic guitars, but country no longer shies away from modern production tropes like loops, drum machines and synths. What’s also notable is that the importance of the quality of the song remains at the core of everything, and strong chorus melodies and stacked harmonies, often in three-part, are stock in trade in this genre.
New country – thanks in part to the TV show – now has a huge audience. Just check out by Dan & Shay (with Justin Bieber), or Lil Nas X’s – a smash hit fusion of hip-hop and country featuring Billy Ray
