Help Determining Genre?

[midwinter]

"Where This Water Takes Us" I would label as Singer/Songwriter, but I'm new to Taxi, so I wonder at some of their style labels myself. Americana to me is like the folk themes in Aaron Copland's Appalachian Spring. But since there's an American Music Association that came later, they now define what is Americana.

Fantastic song on this one too! I've already listened to it 3 times!

Dave

Thanks! Glad you like it! And yeah, it seems "singer-songwriter" to me, too. The first (of like 6) returns it got said something like "I'm getting a more classic vibe than adult contemporary." I've had good luck with forwards with every other song I have in the system, but these two, man. I just can't find the right spot for them.

[Len911]

I've also heard Don Henley, which is a comparison that I really didn't expect.

Really? The song, "You Wanna Go My Way", ooo,ooo,ooo, background singers, sure sounds Eagles,lol! But yes, Don Henley type lead vocal.

Genre can be tricky, because so many people and bands might have three to five genres connected to them. "You Wanna Go My Way", the blues organ isn't Eagles, the piano is country, there are a few places where the vocal phrasing is a little more country maybe than Don Henley, but the background ooo's and Henley-esque vocals elsewhere, probably give it an Americana/Country vibe. Folk/singer-songwriter I would imagine with a simpler arrangement and structure than your two songs. "Where This Water Takes Us", Don Henley lead vocals, piano more adult contemporary or country, there's the organ again, did I hear a fiddle or was I just imagining it?

https://youtu.be/EUqHEzgFRoA Here's Jason Isbell you mentioned. Wiki genre "Americana, Alternative Country, Southern Rock", "occupation: singer-songwriter, guitarist" But this video is country, because imo the fiddle pushes it across the threshold. Did I hear some steel-guitar?, country piano. Is this an Alison Krauss song?? It sounds like something she has done or would do.

For taxi I wouldn't be as concerned about genre as much as if you are on the same page as the examples they provide and what they are asking for in the listing. Your Don Henley-esque vocal naturally sort of creates a certain preconceived expectation,
which could work for you or against you in some cases.

[Kolstad]

Americana is sort of an umbrella term, where you from time to time can find alt.country, blues, classic rock, folk, bluegrass, and singer/songwriter artists on the charts. So, it doesn't say a whole lot in itself.

I could hear both of these as a la Jason Isbell, and I think that's your best bet for pitching them, as he is one of the young guns coming up now so he'll probably be on the listings for a while. But even that can be tricky, because one artist doesn't always stay in the box of genre expectations all the time. Isbell has different songs that can be categorized differently.

But when writing metadata to these, I'd go for Jason Isbell as a similar artist. If you listen on Spotify, there is a section of related artists, where you can broaden out the descriptors a bit, I've found that pretty helpful.

[midwinter]

Really? The song, "You Wanna Go My Way", ooo,ooo,ooo, background singers, sure sounds Eagles,lol!

Ha! Totally hear it now. I hadn't even thought about that! My head was all up in Isbell's sound.

[Len911]

Really? The song, "You Wanna Go My Way", ooo,ooo,ooo, background singers, sure sounds Eagles,lol!

Ha! Totally hear it now. I hadn't even thought about that! My head was all up in Isbell's sound.

And it sounds like Isbell's head was all up in Alison K.

[midwinter]

And it sounds like Isbell's head was all up in Alison K.

There are worse places...