Rancho Alto

Rancho Alto

This is country music.<br><br>In a recent commercial-country star s genre-defining song, the act of singing about Jesus, tractors and little towns is portrayed as an unfashionable act that runs counter to the current of societal norms. Rebellion is drinking a cold one, getting a little loud, although it s never mentioned what the country folk are getting loud about. Country music seems to be an increasingly neutered genre, where nothing at all is said, where a hit song that welcomes a world where a black man could become president was seen as a bridge too far by some. Contrast that discomfort with the bravery of an artist like Merle Haggard producing a song like Irma Jackson in the late 1960s. That The Hag is name-checked by so many current country stars as an influence is ironic, given that the bravery exhibited in this one song is greater than the combined bravery of every artist currently on the country chart.<br><br>Into this tepid landscape, Jason Boland releases his latest album, Rancho Alto. Even though its songs are not likely to be topping the country charts anytime soon, Jason is adamant that this is country music. It may fit in with some other types of music, like Americana maybe, but I m not ready to give up on the idea that country music can be relevant, says Jason. And country music is what I play. My fans are George Strait fans. They go to the dancehalls to see shows. I know these people. They are more capable of complex thought than the country music industry thinks they are. <br><br>Many of the characters that populate Rancho Alto are struggling and reacting to their travails. At heart, this album is about embracing the truths that country music used to tell, but that it can seemingly no longer stomach telling. It used to be that a country artist would sing about the farmer that lost his land; now they glorify the party at the lake. For those of you who love country music, but hate what it's become, Jason Boland will sing you back home.