Diamonds & Gasoline

This is the good modern country. Not that absolute garbage bro country or country pop. This is a call back to the roots of the genre to some degree. In the same vein as Reckless Kelly, Tyler Childers, or Whiskey Myers. A breath of fresh air. Beauty of an album. Thanks OP for the suggestion. Criminally low amounts of country music on this list.

Favourite songs: Kansas City Southern, 7 & 7, Every Girl, Long Hot Summer Day, Down on Washington, Whole Damn Town, Shreveport, 1968, Evangeline, Diamonds & Gasoline

Least favourite songs: None. This album is fantastic!

5/5

Decent country.

Modern country that's not "modern country". This is evidently a throw back to the contemporary stuff of old, but with a more modern finish on it. Lyrically decent, there's a few country cliches but I enjoyed it mostly, especially the first few songs. There's a little bit of rock in some of the songs and sometimes it shifts to more of a folky sound like on the title track. I think I'd have a higher opinion of it if it was 10 minutes shorter, but it's a decent album for what it is.

Should it be on the main list: I'm not into country enough to give a good answer on that, but you could make a case for it. I'm leaning towards no though.

Top 3 songs: Every Girl, 7 & 7, 1968

Loved the first track, they lost me when the steel guitar hit on track 4 and never quite won me back

very country - in quite a modern way. lots of songs about lost love, drinking and being young - which means "the funeral", with its focus on one of the most challenging aspects of adult life, shows up like a bolt from the blue.

fake-ass cliched paint-by-numbers pastiche country... fuck outta here!

Not my usual thing at all but it avoids most of the worst pitfalls that usually turn me off of the genre (over the top accents, cheesy cliche lyrics). I wouldn't seek it out but I wouldn't complain about it being on.

I really don’t like country, but for some reason this didn’t seem so bad and found myself bobing along to songs.

From what I can read here, this is beloved in the Red Dirt and Americana scene for its storytelling and warm, organic sound. But nothing like that stood out for me I'm afraid.

It leans heavily on genre tropes (heartbreak, small-town life, roads, etc.), and while the fiddle and guitar work are solid, the vocal delivery turns me off and keeps me at a distance. There are no standout tracks I’d return to, and it feels more like a well-executed genre exercise than an essential record.

American folk music, more in the "mining town" variety than the "dusty roads" type you sometimes get.