The Americana Lovebirds

If 'tongue-in-cheek' isn't a musical style, it should be, and The Americana Lovebirds dwell within it far more than most. Jason W. McKinzie and Amy Celeste Young-Beard are the 'Birds, and they embrace something not heard much even in the country catalogue: an evocation of a very odd but distinctively rough-cut humor prevalent in the mid-West, usually in the farming/cowpoking communities. To describe the bent is impossible but suffice it to say that whenever you run across someone delivering the most curiously ambivalent comments upon something in a way that you can't quite nail but seems to be heretical, all with a deadpan face, you're right in front of it. The Lovebirds, however, turn that upside down, laying out everything with a sweetsy smile and often hilariously "innocent" tropes.

Doctor Please may be the best example of that, a song making reference to horrible diseases like dengue fever, tetanus, and conjuntivitis ("'Cause I can catch that from you!") while singing of the mysteries of "this affliction" the couple in question has run across: love. One can distinctly hear the sparkle in McKinzie & Young-Beard's eyes as the tune just gets more and more faux-naively crossed up in its own purposely horked-up similes and metaphors. Funny as hell. Of course, there's more than one direct reference to the ancient double-backed beast, winked and grinned at in the most curious blend of Betty Crocker and Hustler magazine.

'N, boys, you're gonna be able to sing the lyrics to I'll be Ready in a Moment, Dear before you even hear the song, an all too familiar commentary on the preparatory ablutions of wimmens as they ready themselves for an evening of entertainment. There are true love songs in Americana as well, though even they, Baby Let's Kiss and Make Up for instance, are chockful of rollicking verses. Ya just can't iron either the Opie Taylor or the Dan Hicks / Kinky Friedman out of this pair, nor should you want to. As I said, such a mode of country folk music is a rara avis and not to be lightly passed over. Though you'll be grinning and hooting at most every cut, this is a serious matter, dang it, and as soon as I down this leetle whiskey shot and tack the new Playboy calendar to the garage wall, I intend to sit down and give it grave thought…if, that is, the wife I don't have doesn't object…and why the heck isn't she ready for the square dance yet??? - Folk & Acoustic Music Exchange

It only took 40 years but we finally have the new Jack Blanchard and Misty Morgan. This isn't alt.country or insurgent country, it's left of center, subversive country that would have made Chinga Chavin stomp on his cowboy hat because he couldn't be so dirty and sound so cutie pie. When you really listen to the lyrics this duo puts forth, it's takes you two or three run throughs to get it through your head you're hearing what you think you're hearing. Never sinking into parody, this is crazy stuff played straight that is the greatest antidote and vaccination to sippy cup country. Country hasn't been this subversive since the 60s when the outlaw rumblings were first brewing for fermentation 10 years later. If only this crew was around to open for the original Burrito Brothers. Great stuff. - MidwestRecord.com

Pros:Great lyrics and vocals at work.
Cons:None.
The Bottom Line: The music that they create is some of the finest in the genre and their wit and musical prowess are a dynamic duo.
With a rich country-infused Americana feel to their music, The Americana Lovebirds have released their self-titled album Americana Lovebirds. This album highlights a sort of down-home American feel to it that is heavy on country influence and exhibits why when people generally think about the country genre of music they immediately think about a sort of southern American influence.

What The Americana Lovebirds have brought to this album is a truly vibrant vocal performance that pairs nicely to the instrumentation performed on each track. There is a simple nature to the music as it is pure and not doctored artificially by a technician in a studio that thinks they know more about the music than the musicians performing the songs. From start to finish on the album, it is evident that The Americana Lovebirds have a real passion for their music and take pride in the music that they have put out across the album.

The Americana Lovebirds is comprised of Jason W. McKinzie and Amy Celeste Young-Beard. Assisting them on this album are Scott Powers on the banjo and Sabhaois on the upright bass.

What is really nice on the album is that the vocals and lyrics are really what shine through. The music on the album is really meant to supplement the vocals and lyrics and there is something refreshing about not having the album overpowered by instrumentation simply for the sake of showcasing instrumental sounds or range.

Country Love really brings the listener into the music of The Americana Lovebirds quite nicely. It becomes evident that the music of this musical act is meant to pair the voice of McKinzie and Young-Beard to one another and the songs are set up in a love ballad sort of format where McKinzie and Young-Beard's lyrics are sort of sung to one another and we as listeners are allowed to listen into their songs. Country Love sings about only needing "a dollop of good ole country love" as being all that one needs and leaves the listener with a sort of chuckling smile on at the end of the song.

Doctor Please is another one of the humor-infused Americana songs that is on the album. The song sings about asking the doctor for a diagnosis of what is being felt. "Is there anything that you can do for me," sings The Americana Lovebirds before they sing about hoping the affliction is not tetanus, dengue fever or conjunctivitis before the doctor advises that the affliction both are feeling is really that the two are in love.

The album closes out with a great track entitled I Want to Be Your Only Cowgirl. With a unique introduction of some yodeling mixed into the music there is something genuine and something funky at work here, and it works really well! You aren't going to find this originality on another album but that is a good thing. It becomes clear listening to this album that The Americana Lovebirds are not about doing "the norm" and instead have carved out music that is brilliantly their own. And what a better way to accentuate this than by closing out their album with this track.

The Americana Lovebirds are not a household name in the Americana or country music genre, yet. But that is okay because what is evident with their self-titled release is that the music that they create is some of the finest in the genre that their wit and musical prowess are a dynamic duo. If they keep on focusing on building this relationship then more and more people will quickly get to know The Americana Lovebirds. - Epinions.com

Every decade has it’s music that reflects the signs of the times. As we shift into the Age of Aquarius, enter Tidewater’s newest band... leading us into the new era with uplifting songs of awareness and consciousness. With bells around her ankles, Amy Celeste Young-Beard and partner Jason W. McKinzie create an array of sounds that are not confined to, but are reminiscent of the late 60’s flowers in your hair folk music while also bridging over to an Indie style of more modern times. Experimental music of the new age fused with acoustics and exotic sounds of the world. - Splash Magazine