For a new generation of indie rock acts, country music is king

By MARIA SHERMAN
AP Music Writer

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Buckle up, cowpoke! The next generation of indie rock has found inspiration in country music. Some pull from the South, like singer-songwriter Mitski. Others hail from there, like soloists Angel Olsen and groups like Waxahatchee, Plains, Wednesday, two-thirds of the Grammy-nominated band boygenius. Instead of shying away from their geographic identities, they’re embracing them. Banjos and lap steel abound. Songs about God, rural roads, trucks, guns, humidity, and crickets do, too. Spotify’s folk and acoustic music editor Carla Turi, who curates the platform’s new “Indie Twang” playlist says this isn’t a new trend, but a movement. Listeners crave organic sounds, she says, and the bands Wednesday and Plains agree.