The impending demise of No Depression magazine, brought on by declining ad revenues symptomatic of the music industry's general malaise, is undeniably sad. It likely didn't help matters that ND was a niche publication, and that its niche was alt-country, a genre whose hippest days are, at least for the time being, solely in its rearview. The height of alt-country's visibility and No Depression's prominence coincided with the success of unpolished, deeply twangy throwbacks like Uncle Tupelo, Gillian Welch, and Whiskeytown. In recent years, however, the roots movement has cleaned up its act, and the emergence of competing rags like Paste and Tracks that lack ND's gritty legacy points to a new landscape where safer, less-regionalist performers like Norah Jones and Josh Rouse hold greater sway.
Whether intentionally or not, Tift Merritt has managed some savvy positioning throughout this sea change. Merritt's 2002 debut, Bramble Rose, introduced the North Carolina native as one in a then-steady succession of insurgent sweethearts, alongside the likes of Kasey Chambers and Kathleen Edwards. As a Southern-bred critic's darling with a fragile, honeyed voice that brought to mind the irreproachable Emmylou Harris, it seemed fated that Merritt's fortunes would be tied to alt-country's as a whole. However, as the genre's trendy cachet began to erode, Merritt herself started moving away from those dirt-road influences and towards a more MOR, pop-flavored take on roots, namely the laidback stylings of Bonnie Raitt or Carole King. The shift was already evident in 2004's Tambourine (ironically nominated for a Grammy for Best Country Album), and is only further crystallized by Merritt's newest record, Another Country (its title, of course, representing another irony). Time will tell whether Merritt's artistic adjustments will make business sense (Tambourine barely outsold its predecessor), but what's more important is whether distancing herself from No Depression tropes has made Merritt a better or a poorer artist. At first glance I'm inclined to say it's a boon, recognizing that alt-country is an enticing trap most of its greatest practitioners (Ryan Adams, Lucinda Williams, Jeff Tweedy) eventually freed themselves from, to at least some degree.
Then again, results speak for themselves, and Another Country just isn't nearly as consistently satisfying as Merritt's earlier offerings. Her voice is still the same willowy, sigh-inducing instrument, and it shines as ever on "Hopes Too High" and the admittedly powerful title track, both of which nonetheless move with the same kind of pleasantly distracted amble that tows most of Merritt's compositions. A little juice is typically a solid cure for lazily shuffling ingenues, but the jauntier likes of "My Heart is Free" and the horn-aided "Tell Me Something True" actually squash the melodic effects that go a long way towards redeeming her songwriting. At least until a line like "start revolutions with a glint in your eye" jumps out and makes you wince a little.
Regarding what I suggested above about alt-country's enticements, I really do believe that a little pedal steel can cover up a multitude of sins. I wouldn't go so far as to call Merritt's initial recordings a smoke-and-mirrors act-- something else besides dirt was under her fingernails then, something that's been lost in her subtle-but-definite folk-pop reinvention. But will she have to return to a genre struggling to put even its niche status on steady legs in order to recover it?
