It’s my opinion that the current attempt in the blogosphere to ‘save’ country music is misguided and ultimately irrelevant. Genre boundaries are useful for the marketing people but artists should be free to go in any direction they wish – look at how the most popular Americana artists of the last few years are heavily indebted to indie and rock, as much as mainstream country is chained to pop and RnB. Blurring the lines of genre doesn’t cause any harm if the music is good, especially when there are still some artists out there who are concerned with keeping the traditional sounds authentic and alive. With All Its Thorns by Laura Benitez and the Heartache would have sounded like ‘classic’ country music twenty years ago but that feeling of nostalgia is exactly why this album is so appealing. Continue reading “Laura Benitez and the Heartache – With All Its Thorns” →