If you're a purist, then many of the jams you're about to encounter are going to confound, maybe even offend, you. And that's because I have a very liberal (some would say skewed) definition what constitutes roots music. Fellow Rhapsody scribe Chuck Eddy once used the phrase "art country" to describe my aesthetic sensibilities. And he's right. I love rootsy stuff, but I also love psychedelic weirdness and underground-bred eccentricities. The aughts were a pretty darn good decade for the intersection of these various proclivities. With the alt-country movement fragmenting and thus relinquishing its grip on the basic concept of a non-mainstream folk-based genre (however nebulous), the playing field opened up for a new breed of earthy oddball. A lot of these youngbloods — more influenced by the progressive folk of John Fahey and classic British folk-rock than, say, anybody from the Uncle Tupelo camp — belonged to the "freak-folk" and "new weird America" trends. Yet there were just as many who had no hip affiliation, who weren't freakers at all. Groups like the Moondoggies, D. Charles Speer & the Helix and Flying Canyon emerged and simply used ancient threads to weave something new and really quite edgy.One major influence on 21st-century "art country" that cannot be ignored is the emergence of the reissue. Dozens upon dozens of artists lost to history for one reason or another were unearthed and embraced by young peeps who liked the idea of vintage hippie and folk music but who had long ago grown tired of hearing from the usual suspects. Nowadays, if you ask some alternative/indie type who their fave old-school songbirds are, he or she just might rattle off the names Vashti Bunyan, Karen Dalton and Judee Sill before even mentioning Joni Mitchell, who used to totally own the hippie-songstress archetype. What's remarkable about Vashti's case in particular is how the reissue of her 1970 album, Just Another Diamond Day, actually led to her collaborating with those furry little creatures in Animal Collective (whose Campfire Songs looks out over "art country" from a rocky bluff -- in sight, but distant). In a sense the reissue revolution of this decade played a similar role to that of Harry Smith's Anthology of American Folk Music in that both retrieved forgotten history and reinterpreted it for a new generation of musicians. Deeply inspired, they used this information to spawn new sounds, new ideas -- and new jams!
Of course, there's no denying the classics when you hear them, which is why my list is also home to Chatham County Line, Charlie Parr, the Black Twig Pickers and even bluegrass icon (and all-around god) Del McCoury. These are artists who make excellent American folk music that hovers just outside time.
Now my list of the 25 best "art country" albums of decade is collected below. But before taking a look, I need to tell you something. And yes, I sound like a corporate drone. However, what I dig about Rhapsody (I'm both customer and employee) is that I've consumed very nearly every single artist, album and song you're reading about simply by using our service. I think that's super cool. Not to sound crass and commercial, but hell, you should check out our free trial. Seriously.
One more thing: Here's my Roots' Best Albums of the Decade album list. Dig it!
25. Songs: Ohia
Ghost Tropic, 2000
Ghost Tropic is a particularly stark affair, even for Jason Molina (aka Songs: Ohia), a Neil Young-inspired singer-songwriter known for crafting emotionally naked folk ballads. If just a single instrument were removed from, say, “The Body Burned Away" or "Not Just a Ghost’s Heart,” there would be no song. So yeah, Molina is a master of rural minimalism. In fact, the 11-minute “Incantation" is nothing save his wavering croon and an atmospheric hum. --Justin Farrar
Maplewood hails from that asphalt desert known as New York City, but the group is pure California—with a detour through Scotland. Much like Glasgow’s Teenage Fanclub, the quartet mixes vintage power pop and West Coast country rock. As you’d expect, their harmonies are light, tight and airy, while the guitars do lots of chiming and jangling. Maplewood’s pastoral vibe might feel a tad too precious for some, but not for those who worship early Poco, America and even Bread. Mellow my mind, yo. --Justin Farrar
23. Chatham County Line
Speed of the Whippoorwill, 2006
The title track could be the most soulful tune Chatham County Line has put on tape in its short recording history. But Speed of the Whippoorwill is more than just a testament to the group’s rapid evolution. It’s about a bluegrass sound that’s both a product and a reflection of modern America. Sure, it exudes that old-time feel, but narrative-heavy tunes like “They Were Just Children” and “Coming Home” are filled with populist characters who are probably carrying the same celly as you. --Justin Farrar
22. Vashti Bunyan
Just Another Diamond Day, 2004 (reissue)
Just Another Day was originally released in 1970. However, the aughts have been the decade of the reissue. Undiscovered in its time, Bunyan’s debut album helped spark the freak-folk movement three decades later. In this sense the whimsical Brit-folk songstress has more in common with Animal Collective, with whom she has collaborated, and Joanna Newsom than all them smelly old hippies from back in the day. One more thing: Just Another Diamond Day is the ultimate soundtrack for dawn. --Justin Farrar / Eric Shea
21. Espers
Espers, 2004
More than any other first-tier freak-folk group (Devendra, Joanna, Vetiver, etc.), it’s Philadelphia’s Espers who sound the most like real-deal musicians committed to folk music as craft. Deeply inspired by the magical forest vibes of both the Incredible String Band and Fairport Convention, the band’s debut is a stunningly mature effort. Greg Weeks, Meg Baird and company have definitely done their homework, creating a sound that’s both old school and stridently modern in its attention to the details. --Justin Farrar
20. Heartless Bastards
The Mountain, 2009
Before The Mountain, a Heartless Bastards album was more or less the band setting up its gear in the studio and rocking out. The Mountain is different. While “Early in the Morning” and “Nothing Seems the Same” prove the band still drops the (indie) blues-rock hammer, the rest of this killer album finds the Heartless Bastards exploring Crazy Horse-brand country rock, acoustic blues and even some moody folk-rock. As always, the star of the show is Erika Wennerstrom’s voice, a gnarly chunk of contorted beauty. --Justin Farrar
On previous records, Vetiver’s Andy Cabic was a freak-folkie who obviously owns a fat stack of awesome albums—not bad, but not great either. With the release of Tight Knit, however, the dude is no longer a collector-nerd. This is profound landscape music, a misty coastal piedmont thoughtfully carved from the singer-songwriter’s twin loves: vintage British folk and West Coast soft rock. Everything here works perfectly, from the compositions to Cabic’s elegant whisper to his band’s patient gait. --Justin Farrar
18. The Del McCoury Band
Family Circle, 2009
To say Del McCoury is one of bluegrass’ last great practitioners is to seriously undervalue the man. Del is one of music’s great singers and stylists, period. He has found a way to make traditional bluegrass sound contemporary without falling into the typical aesthetic pitfalls (too progressive, too retro, etc.). Family Circle is a stone-cold classic, and that’s all there is to it. Tunes like “Hello Lonely” and “Bad Day for Love” stand alongside anything from Bill Monroe or the Stanley Brothers. --Justin Farrar
17. Kurt Vile
God Is Saying This to You?, 2009
Vile sounds depressed. After dropping a debut bursting with sing-along pop anthems, he gives us this moody nosedive into fingerpicked folk-blues and hazy psychedelia. You really couldn’t ask for a better candlelight-at-3 A.M. listening experience than God Is Saying This to You? The first lines of the opener, “My Sympathy,” encapsulate what’s to come: “So you want to marry me/ Well, you got my sympathy.” About 30 seconds later he croaks, “So you want a baby/ Well, it’s got my sympathy.” --Justin Farrar
Charlie Parr is an independent folk artist, but he’s not an indie-folk artist. There’s a difference. 1922 feels like a folk-revival album from the early 1960s. Parr’s husky voice and country-blues fingerpicking recall Dave Van Ronk, as well as pre-Bringing It All Back Home Dylan. It’s really quite astounding America can still produce an artist who sounds like this. Though “Migrant Boxcar Train” stands third in line, bump it to the front; it’s one of the saddest folk ballads of the decade. --Justin Farrar
15. Maquiladora
A House All on Fire, 2005
Previous indie bands have hinted at a fusion of post-rock/slowcore and the kind of cosmic rural jamming the Dead mastered in 1972 and ’73, but only Maquiladora have truly explored the concept. A House All on Fire is both spacey and earthy; it’s the product of both desert nomads and barroom habitues. This creeping music could only have come out of three guys who live in Southern California, by the border, near vast expanses of sun, ocean and desert. This is a record to get utterly lost inside of. --Justin Farrar
14. The War on Drugs
Wagonwheel Blues, 2008
If Dr. Dog are the Beach Boys of Philadelphia, then the War on Drugs are the city’s Byrds, a jangle pop band fusing Americana and mild psychedelia. But unlike the Dog, T.W.O.D. aren’t exclusively committed to the retro mission. Wagonwheel Blues opens with an anthemic homage to Dylan, but soon veers through ambient drones that would sound right at home on an Animal Collective/Dodos playlist. Although the young band hasn’t figured out how to totally fuse these two streams, it’s well on its way. --Justin Farrar
13. Greensky Bluegrass
Five Interstates, 2008
When playing live, which they do a lot, Greensky Bluegrass are a new-grass beast capable of picking some heady jams. On record, however, the Midwest group is driven by well-crafted tunes,smart lyrics and tight harmonies. In this sense, Greensky Bluegrass have more in common with alt-country dudes like the Jayhawks and Son Volt than Leftover Salmon. Outside a few instrumentals and a cover of the standard “Freeborn Man,” Five Interstates is all about earnest meditations upon love, roots and rambling. --Justin Farrar
12. The Sadies
New Season, 2007
Before you listen to anything else on the Sadies’ seventh studio album, play “A Simple Aspiration,” a blissed-out earful of ringing guitars, trippy lyrics and transcendental vocals, framed in the echoing production of hazy, hallucinatory ’60s rock. It’s unlike anything else on the album, which is otherwise occupied by a lot of darn fine alt-country. But like a fine wine, if you take a whiff of that expertly executed psychedelic rock first, you’ll hear its influence in the other tracks. The Sadies aren’t necessarily more rock than country, but they are expert craftsmen of subtle layers. --Rachel Devitt
11. The Moondoggies
Don’t Be a Stranger, 2008
Too many modern rural folk-rock bands slip into the “country life is good” schtick. But the Moondoggies are different. A fusion of Crazy Horse crunch and the Grateful Dead’s hippie gospel, the band is detached, desperate and too preoccupied with their own demons to ever enjoy the so-called simple life. There are light moments for sure. But more times than not, they give way to darkness. “Bogachiel Rain Blues,” for example, is a barroom raver whose primary hook is the line “I’m going down to die.” --Justin Farrar
10. The Black Twig Pickers
Hobo Handshake, 2008
Old-time music suffers from museum syndrome. It’s so revered as an artifact that just about any group that attempts some kind of modern update or innovation almost always screws the pooch. Enter Hobo Handshake. On their best album to date, the Black Twig Pickers, who have studied with authentic mountain musicians in rural southwest Virginia, find that elusive bridge between archaic and modern. In fact, they just might be the most forward-looking old-time revival act since the mighty New Lost City Ramblers. Yowsa. --Justin Farrar
9. Oakley Hall
I’ll Follow You, 2007
The chills of Oakley Hall’s first two LPs happened when everything came together: singer Pat Sullivan reaching for a reedy harmony with Rachel Cox’s sweet alto over a saturation of ’60s psyche dusted with just enough wiry twang to evoke ’70s C ’n’ W. On the band’s third LP, these signature combinations are everywhere, making it their most consistent effort to date and yielding keenly tooled singles like “Rue the Blues” and “Marine Life.” Knees get weak when Cox takes over for a rare lead vocal, as on “All the Way Down.” --Nate Cavalieri
8. The Skygreen Leopards
Disciples of California, 2006
After just a couple spins, Disciples of California will have you rummaging around the attic, looking for your musty copies of American Beauty and New Riders of the Purple Sage. But here’s the thing: the Leopards don’t actually sound like a vintage hippie folk-rock band. They very ingeniously pay tribute to the mythology of a bygone era with a style that has more in common with Television Personalities, the Go-Betweens and other jangle-pop auteurs born and raised in the 1980s. So cool. --Justin Farrar
7. Beachwood Sparks
Beachwood Sparks, 2000
Twee-lovin’ country rock is what the debut album by this Los Angeles-based group is all about. A well-produced and mixed album filled with songs that take the best elements of psychedelic, country rock and dream pop and toss them together to create a forward-thinking album with feet planted in the past. “Silver Morning After” and “The Reminder” are highlights. --Eric Shea
6. Moviola
Dead Knowledge, 2007
After 15 years and six albums, Ohio’s Moviola drop their best record. Growing beyond youthful, lo-fi primitivism, they’re now mature folk-rock craftsmen as skilled as Amish carpenters. From rustic country-pop to punchy R&B, Dead Knowledge unfolds like a true American panorama. The quartet even tips its glass to freak-folk with a Celtic drone titled “Black Haired Katherine.” But the disc’s best track is the piano ballad “Rudy,” a melancholic reflection on Midwest boredom. --Justin Farrar
5. Jack Rose
Kensington Blues, 2005
Although a long road stretches before guitarist Jack Rose, fans are already calling Kensington Blues his masterwork. Fellow maestro Ben Chasny went so far as to say, “Finally, somebody has something to say on the acoustic guitar that hasn’t been said before.” Followers of John Fahey will dispute such a claim, but what they can’t deny is this record’s profound beauty. No matter how far out Rose travels, he never forsakes melody and rhythm. His tightly woven lyricism conjures entire landscapes. --Justin Farrar
4. D. Charles Speer & The Helix
After Hours, 2007
After Hours is one of those rare records that cuts across genres like Patton’s tanks plowing through Saharan sands. With their roots in the free improv/drone scene, D. Charles Speer & the Helix take alt-country, country-rock and dusty Americana and filter them through mind-altering psychedelia and fuzzy freakery. But what’s truly amazing is how the group never ditches the tune—or craft for that matter. They love both good songs and wild sounds. All hail a modern classic! --Justin Farrar
3. Karen Dalton
In My Own Time, 2006 (reissue)
Much like Vashti Bunyan’s Just Another Diamond Day and Judee Sill’s self-titled debut, In My Own Time feels like a modern record. Sure, it came out in 1971, but listeners are only now coming to terms with Karen Dalton’s sublime and ghostly fusion of folk, blues and soul. The sheer number of imitators this reissue has spawned in the 21st century should give you an idea of just how ahead of her time she really was. And yet, none of them have found a way to capture Dalton’s bruised and breaking croon. --Justin Farrar / Eric Shea
2. The USA Is a Monster
Tasheyana Compost, 2003
Now we’re totally off the rails! To 99.9% of the world’s population, the USA Is a Monster will sound like ugly noise and heavy metal tossed into an industrial blender. Dig beneath the surface, however, and you’ll hear a band that’s continuing in the tradition of the Meat Puppets. Tasheyana Compost is an underground-rock masterpiece dipped in twang, Native American rhythms and an earnest love for the environment. There exists nothing else like this strange little disc in the entire galaxy. --Justin Farrar
1. Flying Canyon
Flying Canyon, 2006
Flying Canyon’s sole release burns slowly. The phantom feedback of guitarist and producer Glenn Donaldson haunts Cayce Lindner’s rural ballads and brooding dirges. Lindner’s roots were planted in the hippie country of Kris Kristofferson, Neil Young and ’90s lo-fi: Sebadoh, Red Red Meat. But unlike most indie singer-songwriters, who are forever college kids, Lindner’s lumbering sincerity is that of a man, one who believes in the mythology of classic rock ’n’ roll. This is heavy folk music, maybe even painful at times—but always great. --Justin Farrar
Honorable mentions
James Hand, Shadow on the Ground
Campfire Songs (aka Animal Collective), Campfire Songs
The Coydogs, The Coydogs
The Donkeys, Living on the Other Side
Jack Rose, Jack Rose & The Black Twig Pickers
The Felice Brothers, The Felice Brothers
Josephine Foster, All the Leaves are Gone
Dr. Dog, Easy Beat
Tift Merritt, Bramble Rose
TK Webb, Phantom Parade
Michael Hurley, Ancestral Swamp
Turner Cody, First Light
James Blackshaw, Litany of Echoes
Dredd Foole, Daze on the Mounts
Woods, At Rear House
Asian Mae, Collsing
Wovenhand, Blush Music
Don Howland, The Land Beyond the Mountains
South San Gabriel, Welcome, Convalescence
Kath Bloom, Terror
Blitzen Trapper, Wild Mountain Nation
Arbouretum, Rites of Uncovering
No-Neck Blues Band, Qvaris
Giant Sand, Chore of Enchantment
Phosphorescent, To Willie
Joanna Newsom, Ys
Drive-By Truckers, The Dirty South
Glenn Jones, Against Which The Sea Continually Beats
Califone, Roots & Crowns
The Corndawg, Live and In Person
Jolie Holland, Springtime Can Kill You
PG Six, Parlor Tricks And Porch Favorites
Steffen Basho-Junghans, Waters in Azure
Just a minuscule sliver of the killer reissues worth mentioning:
The Beau Brummels, Triangle
Judee Sill, Judee Sill
The New Lost City Ramblers (R.I.P. Mike Seeger), 50 Years: Where Do You Come From? Where Do You Go?
Henry Flynt, Back Porch Hillbilly Blues Volume 1
Tim Buckley, Live at the Folklore Center - March 6th, 1967
Elyse Weinberg, Elyse
Michael Hurley, Blueberry Wine (aka First Songs)
The Lyman Family with Lisa Kindred, American Avatar
The Red Fox Chasers, I'm Going Down to North Carolina: The Complete Recordings of the Red Fox Chasers (1928-31)
John Phillips, John Phillips (a.k.a. John The Wolfking of L.A.)
Sandy Bull, Still Valentines Day, 1969: Live At The Matrix, San Francisco
The Holy Modal Rounders, Live in 65
Bill Fox, Shelter from the Smoke
Jay Bolotin, Jay Bolotin
Iain Matthews, Valley Hi
Red Red Meat, Bunny Gets Paid
Jackson C. Frank, Blues Run the Game
Portions of album content provided by All Music Guide © 2011 All Media Guide, LLC ® 1999-2011 Rhapsody International Inc.
RIP Jack Rose.
WTF??? Roots? Roots of what? The Pretentious Crap tree?
Come on, Rhapsody, how about a real Best Folk of the Decade? Maybe alt-country is played out - the critics seem to agree on that point -, but I heard some pretty great alt-country music released this decade. None is on this list of junk.
Hi Stertay.
I'm bummed that you would dismiss all the music on my list as junk. Personally, I think there is some pretty awesome music here. What artists and records are you specifically referring to? Which ones don't you dig? I know that the term "roots" is misleading. I apologize for that. However, in my intro I make sure to point out that this list represents a very specific and subjective version of roots music, one that's more alternative, experimental and just plain eccentric. That said, if you like alt-country, then I would kindly suggest checking out #23, Chatham County Line, or #11, the Moondoggies. Both groups make great Americana-based music.
And if you're into more traditional folk music, then definitely sample the Black Twig Pickers at #10. They are one of southwest Virginia's most revered modern old-time acts (their latest record, a collaboration with the great guitarist Jack Rose, also appears under "Honorable Mentions"). And, of course, there is Del McCoury at #18, who is arguably traditional bluegrass' last great practitioner.
Another cool record under "Honorable Mentions" is the latest from James Hand on Rounder. He makes incredible old-school honky tonk.
Sorry you are so upset.
Really nice to see so many nice choices like Moviola, Jay Bolotin, Don Howland, and Hurley. And Flying Canyon-- one of the best albums ever made.
Gee, Justin, I appreciate your direct response to my post. Although I did read your introduction, I guess I was put off by the apparent misnomer "Roots." I actually do like some of the music on the list, and there are a number of entries I'm not familiar with. The USA Is a Monster? Anyway, I apologize for the aggressive tone of my post. I'll get back to you when I've listened to the whole list.
What? No Goose Creek Symphony?
Two thumbs up on Del McCoury. Got to know Del, his family and his business associates a little bit working with them as a local tourism rep on DelFest, their four day Memorial Day festival in the Maryland Mountains.
Del is far from a retro experience, the reverse is true, I think. Check out "Prairie Wedding" on Family Circle. This is a Mark Knopfler tune, recommended for the album by talented young DMB bassist Alan Bartram.
He carries the Bill Monroe lineage forward into the music library of everyone he jams with. This year, his show is quite diverse, headlining, among others, the Avett Brothers.
A genuinely iconoclastic and refreshing list, which has introduced me to the joy of several acts I hadn't previously come across. Many thanks.
interesting overall. well articulated opening. i salute your open-mindedness.
i'm curious to know, how long has the term "Roots" been used as the primary genre labeling for this type of music? and i'm not talking about the specific titles highlighted in the article. i'm talking about anything labeled as "Roots" or "Roots Music" which seems to also be called or connected to: folk, american folk, country, art country, alt-country, americana, indie...
The term "Roots" used as the name of a musical genre ALSO refers to much (not all) of the early Reggae music primarily (not exclusively) created from the late 50s or early 60s through the 80s. In our "Post Bob Marley-led worldwide Reggae explosion" era,"Roots" is more commonly called "Roots Reggae" and is still created today, yet it is a smaller sub-genre of internationally distributed Reggae music.
Write On! Ya Dig.
This is a great list, but I believe Ryan Adams, Limbeck, and Deer Tick all deserve at least honorable mentions as well. Also, the new Levon Helm album is pretty fantastic and so is anything by Justin Townes Earle or Steve Earle. Just making some extra suggestions for anyone who might enjoy the music on this list.
And how could I have forgotten Delta Spirit. Those boys have more soul than you could possibly believe. Once again, this is a fantastic list and I have found some really great stuff I probably wouldn't have run into otherwise. Just making some extra suggestions.
I'm pissed at this list for 2 reasons: It gave me an overload of things to listen to, completely eff-ing my work/sleep schedule; and it made me feel kind of ignorant.
Nice work. And thank you.
Why didn't I catch even a whisper of Levon Helm's two most recent releases? I hope he's in a different category.
Have you seen this Purple People Eater this thing is insane
There's some really great music on the list, but alt-country/roots/Americana/&c. it is not. (with some notable exceptions, Del being the most obvious one)
I actually prefer greensky bluegrass out of them all. A much more natural and progressive sound if you ask me.
i like listening alt-countries when sleeping :D
And how could I have forgotten Delta Spirit. Those boys have more soul than you could possibly believe. Once again, this is a fantastic list and I have found some really great stuff I probably wouldn't have run into otherwise. Just making some extra suggestions.