Is the Bay Area in its country era? I mean, it hasn’t NOT been for a long time: You needn’t look too far back to know; at least to the era of Creedence and Country Joe. But there’s been a steady output of songs that reference the roots of country in the last half-decade—more of a back-to-basics sound than the slick, homogenized sound of country radio—and next up is Michael James Tapscott’s The Beasts of History.
I know Tapscott from China the Band, but you may know him from one of many other projects he’s been involved in over the last two decades: Royal Geography Society, Odawas and more. With pedal steel, geographic references to the Western United States, and a Neil Young creak in his voice, The Beasts of History sounds like an open road unwinding in front of you. I can’t stop listening to it and if you love wistful and a little sad country tunes like I do, I bet you won’t be able to, either.
