Full disclosure: Sometimes I'm a little bit Country (I know I'm not the only one). On more than one occasion I have cleaned out horse stalls, and I kind of enjoy Shania Twain. A lot.

It's difficult, though, when it comes to finding interesting Country-influenced music that appeals to my overwhelmingly R&B/Soul sensibilities. It is nearly impossible when crossover remakes like "I Will Always Love You" are taken out of the equation. In a search to diversify my knowledge of Contemporary Country, Darius Rucker and Phantom Limb stood out. It isn't because their music is all that genre defying or defining. More than anything they slip nicely into this style with their twang and guitar blends. What's curious is that they don't stand out, either.

Although Darius Rucker has been singing Country-adjacent Rock music for years, both solo and in Hootie & the Blowfish, listening to the change in the tone of his voice on "Don't Think I Don't Think About It" from his recent Country album is strange. No doubt he fits perfectly in the genre. However, there is a lack of gruffness to his voice that was so audible during his Hootie days. Except for the moment near the end when he syncopates the lyrics, he mostly sounds hollow.



As for Phantom Limb, the concept of the band is one I thought I could get behind. They classify their sound as a mix of Country and Soul, which sounds interesting enough. Their debut single "Don't Say A Word" is fairly haunting and effectively Country-centric. Lead singer Yolanda Quartey has a great voice that sounds like it fits in the same realm as someone like Angie Stone or Ledisi, but here she is so clearly restraining herself. By the time the song reaches the bridge her voice is bursting out of its Country-Soul seams. Overall it is a fine song, though.

Both Darius Rucker and Phantom Limb are perfectly adequate by my admittedly barely informed opinions on Country music in general. Still, I cannot help but consider my reaction to their music in relation to how I reacted to Duffy and Justin Timberlake the first time I heard their take on R&B/Soul music -- that they were mediocre mimics doing nothing to expand the concept of the genre of music they fall into.

Should their transgression into one of (if not the) whitest genres of contemporary music be given a pass from interestingness by default? How could their music be more engaged with the ideas of Country music without coming off so formulaic and somewhat boring? Can they be criticized in the same way that we criticize white singers of typically black music?

Darius Rucker [Official][MySpace]
Phantom Limb [Official][MySpace]

[Images: Sam Braithwaite/Wikimedia]