Cool Band Alert - Tami Neilson

Neilson Schmeilson

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Name: Tami Neilson
From: New Zealand
RIYL: Neko Case, early Angel Olsen, Sierra Ferrell, Alabama Shakes, Wanda Jackson, Kelsey Waldon
The Gist: One part Roy Orbison crying over you, one part Loretta Lynn en route to Fist City.

It takes all of one minute on Neon Cowgirl for Tami Neilson to stop you in your tracks. As terrifically torch-y opener “Foolish Heart” (helpfully linked above) rounds the corner into its chorus, Neilson leans hard into the title’s second word, flooding it with vibrato and drawing it out good and long to create the kind of moment that makes you go “Goddamn!” Then, one minute later, she does it again—only this time it’s bigger, grander, louder, and more emphatic. She continues gathering steam as the song goes on, building at last to a full-on 70MM widescreen cinematic finale. And then, with her humbling vocal chops firmly established, she’s free to crank up the country-rock riffage and start kicking ass. Neilson swings between these two poles throughout Neon Cowgirl, unleashing those supernatural pipes on blue-light rockabilly ballads like the title track, then getting rowdy in bruising saloon-floor stompers like “Borrow My Boots” and the breathless bluegrass-punk of “Heartbreak City, USA.” Along the way, other elements seep into the songs—there’s a dash of Stax Records in tracks like “Love Someone” and “U-Haul Blues”—but no matter the source material, Neilson lights all of it up with that megawatt voice. Some of that is to be expected: Neilson has been making music since she was a child, playing prisons and riverboats and restaurants in her family’s band since before she was a teenager. Remarkably, for all those years she’s notched behind the mic, Neon Cowgirl still feels like a revelation.

Neon Cowgirl is out July 11 on Outside Music. Pre-order it here.

Dig this record and want more like it?

Did you know that every month, Bandcamp rounds up our favorite country records? Well, now you do. Neilson spent her teen years in Nashville, but lives in New Zealand, which might strike you as an odd place for a country singer to call home, but we’ve found that country music comes from all over; it’s a genre with a rich history, and more than a few odd variants. And Neilson’s nearly two-decade career, with more than a little time spent toughing it out on the Nashville club circuit, puts her in good company: Music City is full of working musicians who diligently ply their trade with dogged perseverance. Finally, if you like Tami Neilson because you like your Americana spiked with a little something extra, may we recommend Japanese Acid Folk?

Listening Party Picks, July 10th - July 16th

Come hang in the chat with artists celebrating their record release this week on Bandcamp.

July 10th: Allo Darlin’ for Bright Lights. RSVP.
July 10th: TURQUOISEDEATH for Guardian. RSVP.
July 10th: Potatohead People for Emerald Tablet. RSVP.
July 11th: Anja Kreysing and Stefan Strasser for Sonic Scorch. RSVP.
July 11th: Dream Division for Una Rosa nel Giardino d’Inverno. RSVP.
July 12th: Sam Rosenthal for Islands (2025 Stereo Mix) RSVP.
July 13th: Sarah Wilson for Incandescence. RSVP.
July 14th: Ayo Bamidele for The Recorder. RSVP.
July 14th: The Soft Boys for Underwater Moonlight: 45th Anniversary RSVP.
July 15th: Bleach Lab for Close to the Flame. RSVP.
July 16th: Slikback for Attrition. RSVP.
July 16th: Nmesh for The Molokai Compendium. RSVP.
July 16th: Message to Bears for Tired Eyes, Waking Hearts. RSVP.

To see the full calendar, go here.