Austin Leonard Jones’ Dead Calm might just be the best tongue-in-cheek surrealist country album you’ll hear this year. Available from Perpetual Doom on vinyl, tape and digital, this record finds the Texan singer-songwriter crooning about things like barfly werewolves and vampires, the quiet joys of small town life and returning to the Black Lagoon. DespiteContinue reading “Austin Leonard Jones – Dead Calm”
Category Archives: country
Nashville Ambient Ensemble Adds an Extra Sensory Dimension to the Frist Art Museum
(All photos by Carissa Stolting) Nashville Ambient Ensemble, one of the best names in the niche world of ambient country music, was commissioned to create musical accompaniment to the Frist Art Museum’s Light, Space, Surface exhibit. Light, Space, Surface: Works from the Los Angeles County Museum of Art runs from June 3-September 4, 2022. TheContinue reading “Nashville Ambient Ensemble Adds an Extra Sensory Dimension to the Frist Art Museum”
Seawind of Battery – Clockwatching
Seawind of Battery’s Clockwatching is a moving ambient country record that makes you feel as though you’re floating through a sunrise daydream. The inaugural release of Island House Recordings, Clockwatching finds Mike Horn (of Goldkey and Sunblinders) conjuring up cosmic Americana atmospheres rich in both melancholia and the peace of secluded nature. Throughout the tape’sContinue reading “Seawind of Battery – Clockwatching”
Nashville Ambient Ensemble: Live at Grimey’s
While the Nashville Ambient Ensemble may not have been able to host a public album release show to celebrate their debut record, Cerulean, they did record an unforgettable live set for the world to enjoy forever. Captured at Grimey’s New and Pre-Loved Music in Nashville, TN, in late April, this sweeping performance transports listeners fromContinue reading “Nashville Ambient Ensemble: Live at Grimey’s”
The Howard Hughes Suite – Smoke From a Future Fire
On Smoke From a Future Fire, The Howard Hughes Suite created lonesome ambient soundscapes that are just as informed by the cosmos as they are by the ghosts of country music’s past. Currently based out of London, The Howard Hughes Suite combines elements of blues and country music, like pedal steel and slide guitar, withContinue reading “The Howard Hughes Suite – Smoke From a Future Fire”
Nashville Ambient Ensemble – Cerulean
On their debut album, Cerulean, Nashville Ambient Ensemble take the emerging ambient-country subgenre and pushes it to a newly evolved state. The aptly named group is comprised of leader Michael Hix on synthesizers, Belly Full of Stars’ Kim Rueger on piano, Jack Silverman on baritone electric guitar, Luke Schneider on pedal steel guitar, Cynthia CárdenasContinue reading “Nashville Ambient Ensemble – Cerulean”
Single Premiere: Nashville Ambient Ensemble’s “Coda”
Preorders are now live for Nashville Ambient Ensemble’s dreamy debut LP, Cerulean, which is slated for release on March 19th on Centripetal Force Records. Click here to get your copy of one of the spring’s most anticipated and original records on black or cerulean blue colored vinyl or CD. Need another taste of this enchantingContinue reading “Single Premiere: Nashville Ambient Ensemble’s “Coda””
Nico Hedley and Field Guides – “Worldly”/”The City is a Painting”
Despite both artists being Brooklynites, Nico Hedley & Field Guides (real name Benedict Kupstas) each turned in some of the year’s best melancholic country songs with their new split single, “Wordly”/ “The City is a Painting.” Released as a colored seven-inch (with a few cover variations) by Whatever’s Clever, this single finds the two musiciansContinue reading “Nico Hedley and Field Guides – “Worldly”/”The City is a Painting””
Video Premiere: “Conversion” by Nashville Ambient Ensemble
One of the most exciting developments in the underground recently has been the ever-expanding crossover of experimental and country music. From unorthodox pedal steel soundscapes to full-blown ambient-country hybrids, this unexpected blend of styles have produced some daringly original records and thrilling concepts. However, with the upcoming release of their debut full-length LP, Nashville AmbientContinue reading “Video Premiere: “Conversion” by Nashville Ambient Ensemble”
Barry Walker Jr – Shoulda Zenith
2020 has seen quite a few records that could be described as “cosmic country,” but Barry Walker Jr’s Shoulda Zenith might just be the spaciest and wildest of the bunch. A Tennessee native that is currently based out of Portland, Walker takes free jazz, ambient and interstellar rock, and then translates them through pedal steelContinue reading “Barry Walker Jr – Shoulda Zenith”
Record Crates United 