Here’s a confession: I have Americanaphobia. I fear that if I allow into my life too much of it then, before I know it, one day I’ll find myself enjoying, say, Lady Antebellum. And that would be a terrible fate.
The trouble is, I keep coming across artists who can clearly be labelled ‘Americana’ whom I really enjoy. The latest of these is Songs: Ohia, whose ‘Magnolia Electric Co.’ I bought this year. That means I’m only ten years late to the party and some years after the death of the troubled mind behind it, Jason Molina. It’s an amazing set of songs, most of which occupy that indie/Americana territory that keep my phobia at bay. But there’s no getting away from it: this one, with a guest vocalist, is not just Americana but out-and-out ‘Country’ and it’s wonderful. Damn.
