Looking At The Last Decade And The Resurgence of Outlaw Country

There are some decades where it’s easier to define it musically than others. When you think of the 60s the Beatles might come to mind, or the 70s might instantly make you think of Led Zeppelin.

But what about the last ten years?

The music world has changed, most say for the better. Now an era isn’t defined by a handful of supergroups curated by record labels. No, with the advent of the Internet, music has been democratized. New platforms give small acts a chance to be heard by everyone. Before they might never be heard outside their local bar.

It’s helped grow the independent scene and nowhere has this been more clear than in country music.

Until very recently, country music was still one of the categories most dominated by the old school record label model. It relied on radio time, big concerts, and tours, and you almost had to be a part of the Nashville crowd to make it.

This is where some find criticism in country music. They remark on how it’s dominated by big acts. It’s all Luke Bryan, Florida Georgia Line, and the like a world dominated by “Bro” country.

But the independent scene is alive and well and it’s bringing back sounds that haven’t been heard since the Highwaymen roamed the roads.

There are plenty of artists that sound closer to Waylon than to Luke Bryan and they’re only getting more popular.

My first real taste of the independent sound, like many others, was Sturgill Simpson.

Sturgill’s an interesting character. The former railway worker had a late start to his music career when he gave up his white-collar job to pursue a music career.

And even though he’s found success dabbling in other genres, he spent a majority of the last ten years as a country singer. And it’s on here I wish to focus. His second album Metamodern Sounds In Country Music is where he popped, getting the attention of Joe Rogan where Sturgill would become a regular guest on the mammoth podcast. But, I think it’s his first album High Top Mountain where I think he has some of his best work, and for me at least, kind of codified what the new old country sound was.

Two of my favorite sounds are from this album," The Storm," and "You Can Have The Crown." "You Can Have The Crown" is a fun upbeat tune about trying to make it in the music industry. And it’s a great sound, especially the Sun King Brewery edition.

But "The Storm" is on another level. "The Storm" captures rural life, and is less a song and more a pastoral hymn. I hear this song and I’m in the front yard back in the woods with nothing much to do. The sun is hot and you’re the only option is to pass the time away. It’s a love song and you hear him aching as well as wishing things went better.

It’s here that he started drawing comparisons to old school singers like Waylon Jennings. And you can hear it. It’s about as far from Bro Country as you can get. The sound is much more Western/Texas country with Simpson’s drawl coming through.

And to prove how interesting these new singers are, Sturgill had the making of what was going to be a huge country career where he abruptly changed courses and released a rock/synthetic record that was turned into a film by Netflix. The one thing that defines Sturgill is his insistence on not being defined.

But I’m glad I found him and he opened the door to a whole new world.

After Sturgill, I like everyone else, happened upon Tyler Childers, which makes sense as the two singers are close. Sturgill produced an album for Childers and the two were recently on tour until it had to be shut down due to the pandemic.

Tyler reminds me of Sturgill’s earlier work with the country knob turned up to 11.

His sound is all Appalachian and his Kentucky twang is present on every word.

His first studio album Bottles and Bibles features stellar songwriting with matching vocals.

The most well know song “Hard Times” just anyone can relate to, but if you grew up in a poor area it resonates even more.

The song comes on and you can picture everything. People out of work and desperate. I spend the majority of my time in northern Michigan where every town is hurting. They’ve lost a mill or factory, or the base closed down and suddenly everyone’s job went with it.

"Hard Times" is the story of a desperate man trying to provide for his family who dies trying to stick up the Texaco station.

These hard times and dark lyrics show up again in other songs. His song “Banded Clovis” from Purgatory features a drug addict shooting his best friend so he can sell the arrowhead they found.

And when he sings these songs his voice matches. His voice nearly strains to the point of breaking. You can hear the desperation in his voice.

This isn’t to say all his songs are dark. His most recent album, showing his rise in mainstream appeal, County Squire debuted at number one on the country charts and features more upbeat love songs like “All Yourn” and “County Squire” as well as “House Fire” a foot-stomping tune that’s fun to listen to.

After Childers, I found Colter Wall.

And this was really something. I don’t know if I’ve ever been more surprised to hear someone sing. I kept seeing him on Youtube and finally clicked on a video.

And man.

It was weird. I thought someone was playing a joke on me.

At the time of the video, Wall is maybe 24 years old. He’s got a beard that more peach fuzz than real whiskers. He looks like he got up to sing after his dad and friends were done playing.

And then he starts singing.

I kid you knot, he might be twenty-five, but his voice is 78 and smokes two packs of cigarettes a day. He sounds like he gargles with gravel and has been drinking whiskey since he was 8.

I mean he makes Sam Elliot sound like a teenager going through puberty.

If you set a cup of water on the table, his voice would make it ripple like that scene in Jurassic Park.

If a can of Skoal could talk it would sound like Colter Wall.

He’s a twenty-year-old kid from the Canadian plains but his voice would make but he sounds like the villain in a John Wayne movie.

But on to his music.

My two favorite songs, which I believe also best showcase that low voice is “The Devil Wears A Suit And Tie” and “Kate McCannon.” Both of which I believe the best versions are the Original 16 Brewery Sessions recording which features Wall playing the guitar with only a kick drum as an accompaniment which gives the perfect ambiance to those two songs.

"The Devil Wears A Suit and Tie" is a throwback country storytelling song about a man meeting the devil and getting guitar playing abilities.

It’s got an old school sound from a new school singer and it works on every level.

"Kate McCannon" is probably his most well-known song. And it exemplifies the interesting things happening in the independent scene.

This song is a throwback to murder ballads.

It’s dark.

It’s depressing.

And it’s nearly perfect.

Like the other song, "Kate McCannon" is a musical short story. He kills the woman he loves after finding her with another man.

It’s the antithesis of everything in mainstream country. It’s not two people in cowboy boots hanging out at the beach. It’s not about trying to find cute girls while supporting the troops.

And that’s what makes this resurgence of outlaw country so interesting. It’s not pandering to people who think they know what country life is. it’s not all John Deere tractors and football games.

As someone who spends a great deal of time in rural settings, it does romanticize country life. These songs and these singers showcase what it’s really like. The lack of jobs. The rundown houses. The rampant drug problems.

It’s about trying to get out of farm towns and coal country. They are country songs from people actually from the country. And they show there's more to country music than just Nashville.

And this last decade has been a return to this new country sound and hopefully, it continues.