COR★★☆☆☆Perhaps it’s the influence of the hit TV series Nashville, but British country music is having something of a moment. First the Hampshire sisters Ward Thomas go to No 1 with their Dolly Parton-like second album, Cartwheels, and now another home counties band, the Shires from Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire, have returned with My Universe, an album of pure country pop. As a pastiche this is spot-on. “I don’t really know where we’re gonna go, but I just drive,” sings Crissie Rhodes on Drive, sounding like she’s cruising down highway 40 west of Nashville, even though it’s more likely she’s…

Source: The Times September 29, 2016 23:13 UTC