3 Post-Britpop Ballads by Richard Ashcroft That Sound Like Country Music

Most know Richard Ashcroft from The Verve and his band’s biggest hit, “Bitter Sweet Symphony”. While orchestral arrangements have become common in Ashcroft’s songs, you can also hear the influence of country music on his writing.

His songwriting began to evolve on The Verve’s second album, A Northern Soul, noticeable in the lonesome chords of “On Your Own” and the weeping nihilism guiding “History”. But Ashcroft perfected the ballad on his band’s 1997 breakthrough, Urban Hymns.

Though largely known for “Bitter Sweet Symphony”, his Britpop hymns “Sonnet” and “The Drugs Don’t Work” made balladeering as much a feature of his recordings as a large string section. If anything, Ashcroft’s post-Verve output has leaned further into country music as you’ll hear on the tracks below.

“You On My Mind In My Sleep” from ‘Alone With Everybody’ (2000)

While touring in support of Urban Hymns, guitarist Nick McCabe quit The Verve. The band replaced him with pedal-steel guitarist B. J. Cole. Cole’s playing immediately provided a twang where McCabe’s ambient soundscapes used to exist. Ashcroft continued this move on his first solo album, Alone With Everybody. His post-Britpop ballad “You On My Mind In My Sleep” even has a title that wouldn’t be out of place at the Grand Ole Opry.

“Oh L’Amour” from ‘Lovin’ You’ (2025)

Although most country music songs aren’t sung in French, a wobbly tremolo guitar opens “Oh L’Amour”, giving Ashcroft’s tender tune a dusty veneer. The early Verve records were known for psychedelic jams and improvisation. Then Ashcroft began crafting acoustic songs, steering the shoegazers in a pop direction. This track from Ashcroft’s latest release reminds me of “The Drugs Don’t Work” from Urban Hymns. And without The Verve backing him, “Oh L’Amour” recalls the country and folk rock of George Harrison’s All Things Must Pass.

“They Don’t Own Me” from ‘These People’ (2016)

This one feels like a cousin to “Lucky Man”. It features a string arrangement from Wil Malone, who has worked with Ashcroft since The Verve’s 1995 single “History”. Malone also arranged the iconic string riff on “Bitter Sweet Symphony” (based on Andrew Loog Oldham’s orchestral sample from “The Last Time” by The Rolling Stones). Ashcroft has become a master of turning a few chords into six minutes of earnest soft rock. And Malone has become just as crucial to his songs as The Verve once was.

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