>2Chainz: NCP & Post-NCP

>2Chainz [Greater Than Two Chainz]: A look at marginalized, negated, or otherwise unloved genres and types of music.

TODAY'S GENRE: Nouveaux-Country-Pop and Post-Nouveaux-Country-Pop

If you're a frequent Pop Cultured reader, you've probably seen me throw around the term "Nouveaux-Country-Pop," or NCP. This is my way of describing country music that's not REALLY country music; stuff like Blake Shelton or Lady Antebellum. There's a massive difference between that stuff and, say, Willie Nelson. And while there's certainly some good NCP out there; most of it is pretty crappy. It's basically the modern equivalent of what Yacht Rock was in the '70s: Obviously, some people liked REO Speedwagon, but they were decidedly uncool. And that's how most NCP has been regarded: A necessary musical evil; something to be avoided when at all possible. But that's beginning to change. 

The main problem with NCP is its repetitive sameness. Almost all the songs sound identical; and their messages rarely differ from a few cliches: Small-town country life is great; America is great; Trucks, beer, jesus, country girls, getting married and having kids, all are great in the eyes of NCP. It's not just a matter of geographical or political disconnect; or the almost propagandizing feeling much of the music gives off. There's also a sense of uninclusiveness; much NCP can feel like an inside joke you're not in on. 

But recently there's been a wave of NCP and NCP-esque music (that's Nouveaux-Country-Pop-Esque, for those playing along at home) that shows the darker side of the cliches espoused in NCP while retaining the uncynical warmness that attracts many country listeners in the first place. It's a kind of Post-NCP.

The best of these Post-Nouveaux-Country-Pop albums is Kacey Musgrave's "Same Trailer Different Park." Musgraves emerged last year with the single "Merry Go Round," a melancholy and droll look at the traditional NCP cliches: "If you ain't got two kids by 21, you're probably gonna die alone, at least that's what tradition told you. And it don't matter if you don't believe, come Sunday morning, you best be there in the front row like you're supposed to." That's pretty biting for a song released by mainstream country label Mercury Records; this is outsider art from an inside source. "Same Trailer" got glowing reviews upon its release; reaching an incredibly high "89/100" score on Metacritic. It's a definite success; and hopefully it will lead to a more substantial change to the NCP mainstream.

Same Trailer isn't the only Post-NCP album to get mainstream praise. Pistol Annies stick fairly close to the traditional NCP mainstream, but they morph it subtly with tales of female badassery combined with a better produced, more stripped-down sound than most NCP. And the Annies as individuals have released lots of great country music too; especially Ashley Monroe's teriffic Like A Rose (which was released the same week as Same Trailer, and also got an 89 on Metacritic.) 

The future of country music is looking bright for the first time in decades, and it's all due to incredible talents like Musgraves and Monroe. And for those that still doubt the cultural relevance of NCP or Post-NCP, this is just the beginning. Country music has a ways to go yet; but this is the time to jump on the bandwagon. 

NEXT WEEK: Modern rap music

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