DJ/Electronica
VENUS HUM
Venus Hum vocalist Annette Strean is proof that unpretentious charm can have global appeal. Strean's unlikely mix of sewing-pattern chic and avant-pop lacks the affectation of, say, Björk, but has won legions of fans in dance clubs on both coasts and across the Atlantic. Her winsome Julie Andrews-meets-Cocteau Twins voice is the ideal foil for Venus Hum's Kraftwerk-inspired dance tracks, which are the work of her bandmates, synthesists Kip Kubin and Tony Miracle. Rightly or wrongly, Strean and company got lumped in with the trendy electroclash movement, and this association has eased Venus Hum's acceptance by European audiences. Electroclash pioneers Larry Tee and Marius De Vries are huge supporters of the group, as are the Blue Man Group, with whom they have collaborated. Around Nashville, there's always a lot of griping about the fact that our rock and pop acts don't get wider exposure. Now that, in the U.K. at least, Venus Hum are on the verge of sensation status, it's time we started paying them a little more attention.
—Paul V. Griffith
Americana/Country
ALLISON MOORER
Moorer's voice is as sultry as an August night and as sophisticated as a black-tie ball. Yet instead of purring romantic come-ons or trading on her range with fanciful showboating, she delves into life's difficult subjects with cool but uncompromising intensity. One of the most arresting singers around, Moorer has shifted from barroom and bluegrass sounds toward harder-edged rock with each album. This year's The Duel is her toughest, most muscular record so far, as she and producer R.S. Field employ a twin-guitar attack reminiscent of Crazy Horse at their most fractured and tense. Co-written with husband Butch Primm, Moorer's songs make the personal political, exploring themes of fighting for dignity and self-expression amid the codification of sex in corporate entertainment and the hyperbole of modern politics. It's gutsy work, and it leaves Moorer wide open to move in any direction to which she feels drawn.
—Michael McCall
Bluegrass/Old-Timey
OLD CROW MEDICINE SHOW
Old Crow Medicine Show bang out string-band music that draws on the jaunty looseness of old-time jug bands and pre-bluegrass stalwarts like Gid Tanner and Charlie Poole. Proving that acoustic musicians can have all the recklessness of their plugged-in punk peers, the quintet value a good time over precision or reverence. They play old-time songs about cocaine use, mules kicking in the wrong stalls and how there ain't a thing for a poor man in this world. They write originals in this Depression-era style, too, with a story-song about a naive country boy eager to ship off to war. They released O.C.M.S. earlier this year, a record that captures their intoxicating stomp almost as well as their raw-boned live shows. OCMS spent 2004 touring heavily, winning converts at bluegrass festivals and rock clubs, and now are at the forefront of a movement of young bands bringing new blood to an enduring form of the American musical vernacular.
—Michael McCall
Blues/Traditional
JONELL MOSSER
During the '80s and '90s, when locals wanted to show visitors the best of Nashville, they'd take them to the Loveless Cafe, the Country Music Hall of Fame, The Parthenon—and to see Jonell at the Bluebird Cafe. In those years, Mosser was championed on the national music scene, performing at FarmAid, working with producer Don Was, appearing on movie soundtracks, fronting a recording band with Ringo Starr on drums, etc. She retreated into motherhood in the '00s, but burst back last year with a series of club shows that proved that she's as soulful and incendiary as ever. She just finished a new album, Time Will Do the Talkin', that includes a duet with Delbert McClinton; contributions from John Hiatt, Steve Earle and Rodney Crowell; and songs by Amy Rigby, Patty Griffin, Darrell Scott, Burt Bacharach and Bert Berns. Mosser's talent always has been timeless rather than trendy, and her music remains as relevant and potent today as when she first stunned audiences two decades ago.
—Michael McCall
Hip-Hop/Contemporary R&B
HAYSTAK
Hip-hop industry insiders have been predicting a major national breakout for Haystak since he started drawing widespread attention from underground rap fans with his hard-hitting second album, 2000's Car Fulla White Boys. With a voice like a pinched nerve and a lyrical flow that rolls like hot molasses, 'Stak is a gangsta rapper whose impressive independent sales had him climbing the ladder from self-produced artist to signing with leading indie label Koch to eventually drawing the attention of hip-hop kingpins Def Jam. The rapper became a cornerstone of the label's move to establish Def Jam South, signing veterans like Ludacris and Scarface and making Haystak the division's first major-label newcomer by buying his contract from Koch last year. Unfortunately, the prolific Haystak, who released five albums between 1998 and 2002, was left hanging while corporate mergers pushed Def Jam South to the back burner. Nevertheless, expect the big guy to be back soon, and with the same mix of skills and attitude that's made him one of the city's most respected rappers.
—Michael McCall
Jazz
THE GYPSY HOMBRES
In Nashville, where jazz is usually accompanied by a list of dinner specials, The Gypsy Hombres recall a time when hot swing was the centerpiece of a sophisticated night out. Basing their sound on the continental jazz of gypsy guitarist Django Reinhardt—whose Quintet of The Hot Club of France created a huge sensation in the '30s—the Hombres' free-spirited yet romantic approach is entertaining, danceable and progressive. While the Hot Club sound is again in vogue, the trio (consisting of violin, arch-top guitar and double bass) incorporate classical, South American and international folk elements, along with improvisation and gypsy swing. The result is a personalized style that's simultaneously traditional and debonair. You really have to be able to play to pull off the Hombres' impressive mood swings, and the veteran lineup—which includes award-winning violinist Peter Hyrka (a former member of prog-pop band Human Radio), Norman Blake protégée David Sebring and double bassist Dan Immel—has the chops and good taste to make the transitions seem effortless. The Hombres' soon-to-be-released third album, Nouveau, steps further away from their gypsy swing baseline. A Brubeck-like mix of rhythmic textures and tonal colors, the record adds Appalachian and ragtime influences to the band's assorted mix.
—Paul V. Griffith
Punk/Hardcore
SLACK
Yet another indie phenom from Murfreesboro, Slack have an edgier, more punk-infused sound than fellow awardees Feable Weiner. What the bands share, however, is a lightheartedness that seems miles away from the "You Can Be a Nashville Star" mentality found just 30 minutes down I-24. Instrumentally, Slack sound a bit like Hüsker Dü or formative-period Nirvana, but the trio's halfhearted cynicism saves them from being mired in turn-of-the-decade angst. For example, lyrics like "Don't look now, it's not working out / Please, please we can get it to-geth-er"—from the band's new record, Nothing Is Easy Enough—are saved from sounding sappy or self-involved by vocalist Chris Slack's slurry, "oh no, not again!" delivery. Commendably, Slack—who've been together for nearly 10 years but are still in their 20s—avoid new school punk's more tedious tendencies, such as Strung Out's technique-heavy bombast or the childish leering of Blink 182. This alone should guarantee the band's appeal to those outside of punk and thrash circles.
—Paul V. Griffith
Rock/Experimental
THORNTON
Characteristically, three-piece bands are a heavy-handed lot. That's not the case with Thornton, a local trio who avoid rock formula with the ardor of experimental standard-bearers like Pere Ubu and Laurie Anderson. That said, there's nothing dissonant or theatrical about Thornton's debut album, Had a Sword, a record that underplays practically everything—except, perhaps, frontman Kevin Thornton's sexual ambiguity. Like those of Morrissey, who is an obvious influence, Thornton's piqued lyrics jab at sexual convention and romantic equality. "With good behavior, one gets to pass / Then right across the ass comes the helping hand," he sings on the gauzy "My Teacher." Musically, Thornton avoid hyperbole. Arrangements are stripped down to the essentials: tinkling piano, unpretentious guitar and muted percussion. Despite this subdued approach, there is a grandeur to their album that's owed, in part, to its dependence on the Baptist Hymnal. Strange as it might sound, the melodies of songs like "Live in This World" (a hymn to hiding under the covers) and the aforementioned "My Teacher" recall the pentatonic hymnody of rural Southern churches. For those who are sick of musical derivation and sameness, Thornton's incongruities and light-handedness are a saving grace.
—Paul V. Griffith
Rock/Pop
FEABLE WEINER
If there is a "Murfreesboro Sound," Feable Weiner exemplify it. Though it's a diverse scene, rock bands from this college town share a self-deprecating vibe that's charming and addictive. Add to that an unself-conscious range of influences, from early punk to glam, Southern rock to cheesy pop, and you're close to describing Feable Weiner's debut, Dear Hot Chick. As the title implies, this grad student-aged quartet have a one-track mind—almost all of the record's tracks involve getting, losing or lusting after young women. Still, these come-ons and brush-offs avoid the salacious, Girls Gone Wild approach, trading instead in a schoolyard innocence that's naughty but never feels misogynistic. Sample lyric: "I'm in love with my professor / I'm a daydream obsessor / If I could magically undress her, I would." Such singularity of purpose might get old if it weren't for the band's musicianship: grooves turn on a dime, shifting mid-song from plodding dino-rock to frenetic punk, then withdrawing to near silence. Together with singer gnat's ass-tight vocals and huge guitar hooks—which combine, believe it or not, Marc Bolan's swagger and Tom Scholz's power-soaked drone—the Weiner are as car stereo-friendly as anything you'll find in the "new releases" racks at Tower.
—Paul V. Griffith
Singer-Songwriter
MINDY SMITH
This time last year, Smith was gathering a following through her frequent appearances on the local club circuit. The connection that her powerful songs made with listeners turned her into a national phenomenon by the time of the January release of her debut album, One Moment More (Vanguard), a record that has sold well and attracted loads of press for an acoustic-based newcomer. Smith's songs are too revealing for modern country radio, partly because they demand an emotional response: her lyrics deal with loss, death, struggles with identity and the strength it takes to overcome setbacks and to take a stand. She sings with an expressive alto that can be fragile or brash, and she's an accomplished guitarist who can hush a noisy crowd as a soloist or hold her own with a backing band. Smith offers the occasional glimmer of optimism, but most of her songs—even a spiritual like "Come to Jesus"—are desperate and despairing. That she peers into this heart of darkness and emerges sounding strong, even triumphant at times, is why she's making converts so quickly.
—Michael McCall
