It’s not a genre, it’s a sound — a nod to hazy teenage mornings spent listening to blues records, to the rasp and rattle of Janis Joplin, the folky crackle of Ani DiFranco, the gravel and grit of Billie Holiday. It’s the throat-scratching smoke of a dive bar, muddled together with a walk through the city at twilight. Here, the best smoky voices of the ‘10s linger and wind around one another, their unique tone evoking the absolute best of modern folk, pop, and indie, with effortless aplomb. Waxahatchee’s timeless evocation of lazy summers lounges alongside Angel Olsen’s fuzz-soaked, vintage pipes; Karen O employs the crackliest dimensions of her breathy tones, while Courtney Barnett’s half-sung melodies skiffle over country-laced guitars; and Hinds’ bourbon-soaked slurring marries perfectly with Shannon and the Clams’ Wanda Jackson-indebted twang.
