ROUTES-cast March 23, 2025

ROUTES & BRANCHES

featuring the very best of americana, alt.country, and roots music

March 23, 2025

Scott Foley, purveyor of dust

If You Only Listen To One Record This Week

Lola Kirke is hardly the first actor to try their hand at music. She actually recorded her debut EP nearly a decade ago, though her new Trailblazer full-length is the first we've taken notice of her in any capacity. Produced by the reliable hand of Daniel Tashian, the album excels in striking an appealing balance between country and pop without short-changing either audience.

Trailblazer serves as the companion piece to Kirke's recently published collection of personal essays, Wild West Village (Not a Memoir Unless I Win An Oscar, Die Tragically, or Score a Country #1). The book shares anecdotes about growing up in New York, the daughter of a hard rock drummer and a fashion designer, and Kirke's record follows suit. "Raised By Wolves" is a pop gem featuring Todd Lombardo on mandolin and banjo, the singer wise to her own fight or flight youth: Baby ain't it a strange thing / Learnin' how to love from scratch. 

Lola Kirke specializes in serial oversharing on both projects, describing a portrait of her mother on the Natalie Hemby cowrite "Marlboro Lights & Madonna" and later her father on a fuzz and twang tribute: He showed me Zeppelin III / He showed me how to drive. Despite the evident dysfunction, Kirke's songs aren't about placing blame as much as they are about celebrating the quirk: I'm havin' a breakdown, she sings on the drinkin' ballad "Hungover Thinkin'", a cowrite with Liz Rose, A cry and a Coke. Pahl's droopy pedal steel slides between weeping and cosmic on Trailblazer. 

Now living in Nashville, Kirke's heart still beats for the Big Apple: When I die lay me down six feet beneath 14th Street. Powered by Tashian's electric guitar, "Bury Me In NYC" rumbles like a surfacing subway train. But musically, Trailblazer never strays far from Nashville. Written with Ashley Monroe, "2 Damn Sexy" drops affirmations like Gwen Stefani fronting a chugging Wilburys. "Easy On You" and "241's" trade in straightforward contemporary country, with the singer drinking' to forget on the latter: It takes two to take the edge off / Two more to buzz like busted neon. 

Daniel Tashian's mantel is no doubt home to an impressive assortment of awards for his role as producer and cowriter for Kacey Musgraves' Golden Hour, among the foremost country-pop projects. He loans his veteran band to Kirke for Trailblazer, including pedal steel player Russ Pahl, Fred Eltringham on drums, and bassist Lex Price. The sessions sound bright and current, but the personality that sparkles through the lyrics and the delivery belongs to Lola Kirke. The singer/author/actress charms like Jenny Lewis (another actress with proven musical integrity). 

On the other hand, if your time allows for additional listens, check out A Routes & Branches Guide To Feeding Your Monster, our single-mindedly updated new release calendar. This week's adds include new stuff from notables like Alan Sparhawk with Trampled By Turtles, Scott Hirsch, Drunken Prayer, Lukas Nelson, Durand Jones, and many more. 

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ROUTES-cast March 23, 2025

^ Lola Kirke, "Trailblazer" Trailblazer  (One Riot, 25)

- Silverada, "New Madrid" Texas 42 EP  (Prairie Rose, 25)

- Van Plating, "Yesterday Got In the Way (ft Kelly MickWee)" single  (Singular, 25)  D

- Muscadine Bloodline, "Way Too High (2010)" ... And What Was Left Behind  (Stancaster, Apr 11)

- Clover County, "Nothin' At All" single  (Undercover Lover, 25)  D

- Lukas Nelson, "Ain't Done" American Romance  (Sony, Jun 20) D

- Benjamin Dakota Rogers, "This Ol' Way" single  (Good People, 25)  D

- Samantha Crain, "B-Attitudes" Gumshoe  (Real Kind, May 2)

- Shannon McNally, "It's Gonna Be a Long Night" single  (Queen Maeve, 25)  D

- David Ramirez, "Waiting On the Dust To Settle" All the Not So Gentle Reminders  (Blue Corn, 25)

- Durand Jones & the Indications, "Been So Long" Flowers  (Dead Oceans, Jun 27)  D

- Taylor Rae, "Telluride (ft Sierra Hull)" The Void  (TaylorRae, Apr 18)  D

- Mike Delevante, "Rain Never Came" September Days  (Truly Handmade, Apr 11)  D

- Drunken Prayer, "Rock Of Ages" Thy Burdens  (Dial Back Sound, Jun 6)  D

- Kora Feder, "Detroit Summer" Some Kind Of Truth  (Feder, 25)

- Ben de la Cour, "I Must Be Lonely (ft Gin Wife)" New Roses  (Jullian, Jun 6)  D

- Little Barrie & Malcolm Catto, "Spektator" Electric War  (Easy Eye, Apr 18)

- Will Johnson, " All Dragged Out" Diamond City  (Keeled Scales, Apr 4)

- Esther Rose, "Had To" Want  (New West, May 2)

- Minus 5, "Blow In My Bag" Oar On Penelope  (Yep Roc, May 30)

- Dutch Interior, "Wood Knot" Moneyball  (Fat Possum, 25)

- Ed Kuepper & Jim White, "16 Days" After the Flood  (Kuepper, 25)  D

- Lucette, "Rodeo Clown" Nice Girl From the Suburbs EP  (Prairie Blue, 25)

- Lonnie Holley, "A Change Is Gonna Come" Tonky  (Fat Possum, 25)

- Jeremy Bradley Earl, "Days Turn Around" Four Songs EP  (Woodsist, 25)

- Alan Sparhawk & Trampled By Turtles, "Stranger" Alan Sparhawk & Trampled By Turtles  (Sub Pop, May 30)  D

- Westerlies, "Paradise (ft Sam Amidon)" Paradise  (Westerlies, Jun 16)  D

- Beirut, "Tuanaki Atoll" A Study Of Losses  (Pompeii, Apr 18)

- Jensen McRae, "Savannah" I Don't Know How But They Found Me (Dead Oceans, Apr 25)  D

- Scott Hirsch, "When Things Fall Apart" Lost Padres  (Echo Magic, May)

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To enjoy any Spotify ROUTES-cast, just open Spotify and search for "routesandbranches" to access this most recent playlist, as well as many others from past months.  Or click here for a preview:

ROUTES-cast March 16, 2025

ROUTES & BRANCHES

featuring the very best of americana, alt.country and roots music

March 16, 2025

Scott Foley, purveyor of dust

Since 1997, the Oklahoma Music Hall Of Fame and Museum has inducted more than 130 artists, representing a fair mix of legends and folks with whom we're frankly unfamiliar. After so many years and recognitions, it's perhaps surprising that they're just now getting around to celebrating The Boys From Oklahoma, a handful of very worthy red dirt artists including Cross Canadian Ragweed, the Great Divide, Stoney LaRue, and Jason Boland & the Stragglers. Which brings us to:

If You Only Listen To One Record This Week 

Last we heard from Jason Boland and co., they had delivered a 2021 concept album centered around a story of alien abduction. Now a Texas resident, the songwriter and bandleader has curated a rewarding discography that ably occupies the frontiers of country music's hybrid sub-genres. Their eleventh record, The Last Kings Of Babylon, returns the act back down to earth with a Lloyd Maines-produced selection of songs just this side of country. 

Since his debut on 1999's Pearl Snaps, Boland has presented his songs in a classic country baritone, one of the most capable singers in the genre. Even a significant medical setback wasn't enough to sour his vocal appeal, as heard on "Next To Last Hank Williams". The opener establishes a couple themes from Last Kings: Most notably the band's commitment to a life on the road. Granted, it's far from an original stance, but Boland's songs manage to avoid many of the tropes and cliches to which much red dirt and Texas country tend to fall. "Next To Last" is good-natured and sharp with self-deprecation, asking When he's gone will anybody care? Fast forward to the record's end, the swaying "Irish Goodbye", and the singer's recognizing when it's time to move on: A welcome's been worn / Like a jacket that's torn / I believe I should be moving on. 

Maines and Boland spent just two days recording Last Kings, a fact that belies the album's terrific live sound. The driving "Truest Colors" showcases Nick Gedra's mandolin and one of the songwriter's most melodic choruses. The Stragglers' cohesion shines through as well on their run through fellow Okie Randy Crouch's rowdy "Ain't No Justice", featuring AJ Slaughter's thick guitars racing alongside Andrew Bair's electric keys. The ensemble's bluegrass chops shine on "Farmall", with close harmonies, steel guitar and Gedra's fiddle. The weed-forward "High Time" (Let's put some smoke up in the air) is immediately juxtaposed against the slower tempoed "One Law At a Time", with Boland boasting that I don't break more than one law at a time, whether that's honoring his marital vows or keeping his dog on a leash. 

In addition to their note-by-note recitation of the Crouch track, the Stragglers add a few other covers from their repertoire, including "Drive", originally by Jason Eady, Jamie Lynn Wilson, and Kelly Mickwee. On Last Kings, the tempo is goosed just a touch, and Gedra's mandolin shares space with an organ and layers of electricity that add a low-end thump. Jimmy LaFave's Oklahoma classic "Buffalo Return To the Plains", is given its due respect as well. The new project honors Jason Boland's commitment to adding an extra jolt of live energy to the studio set. 

I've been here before with one eye on the door, Boland sings, Because I know how this story will end. The road veteran hardly sounds tired and worn on Last Kings Of Babylon, even as he knows his way across the country's blacktop grid. On "Take Me Back To Austin", he acknowledges that he can become stir crazy when he's holed up too long in his rural home. Even as Jason Boland & the Stragglers take their well-earned victory lap after more than a quarter century of this stuff, their eleventh studio collection demonstrates the life left in their tank. 

... if you bookmark only one new release calendar this week, you could do worse than A Routes & Branches Guide To Feeding Your Monster, our reverently updated run through what's on the horizon. This week, we've added news of upcoming stuff from Eli Paperboy Reed, Chad Price Peace Coalition, Florry, Matt Daniel, Heavy Diamond Ring and several more. 

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ROUTES-cast March 16, 2025

^ Jason Boland & the Stragglers, "Next To Last Hank Williams" Last Kings Of Babylon  (Proud Souls, 25)

- Charley Crockett, "Never No More" Lonesome Drifter  (Island, 25)

- Kristina Murray, "Fool's Gold" Little Blue  (Normaltown, May 9)

- Cody Jinks, "Put the Whiskey Down" single  (Late August, 25)  D

- Morgan Wade, "East Coast" single  (Ladylike, 25)  D

- Sterling Drake, "In My Dreams" Shape I'm In  (Calusa, May 2)  D

- John Howie Jr & Rosewood Bluff, "Who Needs the Neon" Return Of ...  (Schoolkids, Apr 18)  D

- Tobacco City, "Buffalo" Horses  (Scissor Tail, 25)

- Paradise Motel Lounge, "Dead and Rotting" Welcome To the ...  (Halloween On Raspberry Hill, 25)

- Palmyra, "Palm Readers" Restless  (Oh Boy, Mar 28)

- Wilder Blue, "When the Last Light Fades" Still In the Runnin'  (Hill Country, 25)

- Brown Horse, "Radio Free Bolinas" All the Right Weaknesses  (Loose, Apr 4)

- Fust, "What's His Name" Big Ugly  (Dear Life, 25)

- Florry, "Hey Baby" Sounds Like ...  (12XU, May 23)  D

- Tony Kamel, "Makin' It Work" We're All Gonna Live  (Blue Corn, Apr 17)

- Ruston Kelly, "Slide" Dirt Emo Vol 2 EP  (Rounder, 25)

- Jason Isbell, "Crimson and Clay" Foxes In the Snow  (Southeastern, 25)

- Hannah Cohen, "Dusty" Earthstar Mountain  (Congrats, Mar 28)

- Joe Pug, "Flood In Color (live)" Lie At the Old Town School Of Folk Music  (Pug, Apr 18)

- Matt Pond PA, "Bring On the Beginning" single  (Sonder House, 25)  D

- Jake Xerxes Fussell, "Close My Eyes" single  (Fat Possum, 25)  D

- Judy Blank, "Pony" Lil' Mood EP  (Rounder, 25)

- Son Of the Velvet Rat, "Inland Empire (ft Ghost and the Machine)" single  (Rat, 25)  D

- Pearl Charles, "Middle Of the Night" Desert Queen  (Taurus Rising, Apr)

- Neil Francis, "Broken Glass (ft Say She She)" Return To Zero  (ATO, 25)

- Eli Paperboy Reed, "Stop Talking In Your Sleep" Sings Walkin' and Talkin' and Other Smash Hits!  (Yep Roc, Jun 6)  D

- Ben Kweller, "Depression (ft Coconut Records)" Cover the Mirrors  (Noise, May 30)

- Bon Iver, "If Only I Could Wait (ft Danielle Haim)" SABLE,fABLE  (Jagjaguwar, Apr 11)

- Florist, "Moon Sea Devil" Jellywish  (Double Double Whammy, Apr 4)  D

- Drayton Farley, "My Mind Is a Radio" single  (Hargrove, 25)  D

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To enjoy any Spotify ROUTES-cast, just open Spotify and search for "routesandbranches" to access this most recent playlist, as well as many others from past months.  Or click here for a preview:

ROUTES-cast March 9, 2025

ROUTES & BRANCHES

featuring the very best of americana, alt.country and roots music

March 9, 2025

Scott Foley, purveyor of dust

One of our disappointments in trimming back our offerings lately is that there's been such a run of very good songs and records. We recognize that your listening time is very valuable, however, and most of us barely have enough to revisit our favorites now and then, let alone dig deeply into what's new an less familiar. This brings us to our first foray back into content outside of our Sunday Spotify ROUTES-cast. We're feeling pretty good about calling it:

If You Only Listen To One Record This Week

By our count, there were around twenty (20) releases this week, not to mention countless others outside our area of focus (what we fondly term our kind of music). The idea here is that we'll tag just one record that we think you'll really really enjoy. Rather than a formal review, we'll simply tell you why it merits your attention. 

This week that one album is Big Ugly, the third full-length of North Carolina's Fust. Where Genevieve was a very satisfying collection, and Songs Of the Rail told an interesting story of Fust's early evolution, Big Ugly advances a more complete idea. Fronted by Aaron Dowdy and produced by Alex Farrar (MJ Lenderman, Wednesday), the record fits into that current Carolina alt.country explosion, but sets itself apart with Dowdy's marriage of story and mystery, song and drone. 

Well worth your while in its own right, Genevieve was a thicker, clamorous album, its imagery as shrouded as its sonics. Big Ugly takes great strides in clearer song structure and in sound, with pedal steel assuming a central role and Libby Rodenbough's fiddle and backing vocal proving essential as well. Dowdy's pathetic love stories are dusted with the stories, sounds, and places of the south. A PhD candidate at Duke, he is a skilled navigator of this mythology, never giving into tropes or stereotypes, steering well clear of romanticizing the down-and-outs and the original sinners. 

Songs like "Spangled" and "Bleached" are confident, full-throttle rockers presented with pedal steel, piano, and fuzz guitar. On "Spangled", the narrator haunts bridges and ditches: I'm feeling like heaven / I'm feeling like a sparkler / That's been thrown off a roof / And left floating off VA-305. Fust can rage like Drive-by Truckers, but can also exercise restraint like Magnolia Electric Co on the shimmering "What's His Name". On the bluesy "Sister", we're Wrecked, wounded, wore down. 

The songs of Big Ugly are a weave of the personal and the poetic, naming names then departing into a spangled reverie. From the hooky "Mountain Language": You can't even find work at the Country Boy / Selling gas station drugs / To take care of your sister Dallas. The electric buzz from Genevieve remains, but takes its proper place alongside more clear instrumental statements as the members of Fust continue to explore their identity as a band. 

How have I been, Dowdy wonders on the pretty "Heart Song", Have I been okay at living. This new project is a phenomenal step forward for Fust, beautifully broken but capable of great melody and genuine feeling. Like Richard Buckner's watermark Devotion + Doubt, Big Ugly  is a terrific blend of quiet and noise, with Dowdy and cohort setting the early bar for the year's best album. If you listen to nothing else this week ... 

... but if you want to listen to many more records, you could do worse than to spend some time staring at A Routes & Branches Guide To Feeding Your Monster, our routinely updated new release calendar. This week, we added forthcoming stuff from artists that matter like Bones Of JR Jones, I'm With Her, Dallas Ugly, James Bradley Earl, Dean Johnson, and so many more. 

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ROUTES-cast March 9, 2025

^ Fust, "Gateleg" Big Ugly  (Dear Life, 25)

- Sarah Jane Scouten, "Sweetest Homewrecker" single  (Light Organ, 25)  D

- Tobacco City, "Colorado" Horses  (Scissor Tail, 25)

- Silver Synthetic, "Age Of Infamy" Rosalie  (Curation, 25)

- Jack Van Cleaf, "Smoker" JVC  (Dualtone, May 9)

- Ken Pomeroy, "Days Getting Darker" Cruel Joke  (Rounder, May 16)

- Charles Wesley Godwin, "Hammer Down (ft Scott Avett)" Lonely Mountain EP  (Big Loud, 25)

- Caroline Spence, "Sound Of You" single  (Spence, 25)  D

- Low Gap, "Churches" single  (Low Gap, 25)  D

- Clay Street Unit, "Let's Get Stoned" single  (Sony, 25)  D

- Sierra Hull, "Muddy Water" Tip Toe High Wire  (Hull, 25)

- I'm With Her, "Ancient Light" Wild and Clear and Blue  (Rounder, May 9)  D

- Jason Isbell, "Gravelweed" Foxes In the Snow  (Southeastern, 25)

- Kassi Valazza, "Your Heart's a Tin Box" From Newman Street  (Fluff & Gravy, May 2)

- Bones Of JR Jones, "Savages" Radio Waves  (Bones, Jun 20)  D

- Jess Kerber, "I Wonder If I'll Forget This" single  (Felte, 25)  D

- Adam Melchor, "Suburban Siddartha" Diary Of Living  (Many Hats, May 23)  D

- Paco Cathcart, "Bottleneck Blues" Down On Them  (Wharf Cat, May 5)  D

- Will Stratton, "Red Crossed Star" Points Of Origin  (Bella Union, 25)

- Dean Johnson, "Blue Moon" single  (Saddle Creek, 25)  D

- Valerie June, "Sweet Things Just For You" Owls Omens and Oracles  (Concord, Apr 11)

- Anderson East, "Chasing You" Worthy  (Rounder, May 30)  

- Lucy Rose, "Pale Blue Eyes" single  (Rose, 25)  D

- Lucius, "Impressions (ft Madison Cunningham)" Lucius  (Fantasy, May 2)

- Case Oats, "Seventeen" single  (Merge, 25)  D

- Jerry David DeCicca, "Knives (ft BJ Cole)" Cardiac Country  (JDD, Apr 25)

- James Bradley Earl, "Let the Snow Fall" Four Songs EP  (Woodsist, Mar 21)  D

- Ophelias, "Salome" Spring Grove  (Get Better, Apr 4)

- Hard Quartet, "Lies (Something You Can Do)" single  (Matador, 25)  D

- Ags Connolly, "Corner Of My Street" single  (Finstock, 25)  D

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To enjoy any Spotify ROUTES-cast, just open Spotify and search for "routesandbranches" to access this most recent playlist, as well as many others from past months.  Or click here for a preview:

ROUTES-cast March 2, 2025

ROUTES & BRANCHES

featuring the very best of americana, alt.country and roots music

March 2, 2025

Scott Foley, purveyor of dust

A couple weeks ago, we reverted to the weekly subscription model here at R&B HQ, after committing to an ambitious five posts per week over the previous year. We hope you noticed. While this has given us more time to focus on more lucrative pursuits, it's also left us feeling sorta hollow, with nobody with whom to share exciting news and unsolicited opinions. As we fumble around to establish a new balance, it's our hope and expectation to include additional content here in our weekly missive. We just need a sec to decide what will work, how to commit ourselves in a meaningful way without sinking back into the swamp gas. In other words, continue to watch this space. 

This week's frenetic activity on A Routes & Branches Guide To Feeding Your Monster (our frenetically updated new release calendar) includes new album announcements from David Lowery, Shinyribs, Colin Miller, Chaparelle, Rachel Brooke, and a ton more. Please follow the link above to see everything that's due in the months to come. 

ROUTES-cast March 2, 2025

^ Nathaniel Rateliff & Gregory Alan Isakov, "Flowers" single  (Stax, 25)  D

- David Ramirez, "Nobody Meant To Slow You Down" All the Not So Gentle Reminders  (Blue Corn, Mar 21)

- Shinyribs, "Leavin' Louisiana Blues" Leaving Time  (Nine Mile, Apr 25)  D

- Will Stewart, "Regulars" Moon Winx  (Earth Libraries, 25)

- Angela Autumn, "Just Like My Lover" single  (Autumn, 25)  D

- JD Clayton, "Madelene" Blue Sky Sundays  (Rounder, 25)

- Lola Kirke, "241s" Trailblazer  (One Riot, Mar 21)

- Mike Frazier, "World Without Empires" April Days  (Geneva, Apr 25)

- Cactus Lee, "Rabbit" Cactus Lee  (Western Vinyl, Mar 28)

- Chaparelle, "Inside the Lines" Western Pleasure  (Mom + Pop, Apr 18)  D

- Dani Rose & Brent Cobb, "I Ain't Livin'" single  (Rose, 25)  D

- Them Coulee Boys, "I Need a Friend" No Fun In the Chrysalis  (Some Fun, 25)

- Paradise Motel Lounge, "True Roses (fall like tears)" Welcome To the ...  (Halloween On Raspberry Hill, 25)  D

- Droptines, "Snowed In" single  (Droptines, 25)  D

- Devil Makes Three, "Dark Gets the Best Of You" Spirits  (New West, 25)

- Lowtimers, "Flesh and Bone" Cracks  (Alabama Sound Co, May 16)  D

- Alison Krauss & Union Station, "Granite Mills" Arcadia  (Down the Road, Mar 28)

- Sean McConnell, "Southside Of Forever" Skin  (Silent Desert, 25)

- Ramsey Thornton, "Rope Dancer" single  (La Honda, 25)  D

- Charles Wesley Godwin, "Lonely Mountain Town" Lonely Mountain EP  (Big Loud, 25)

- Free Range, "Storm" Lost & Found  (Mick, Mar 28)

- Colin Miller, "Cadillac" Losin'  (Mtn Laurel, Apr 25)  D

- Samantha Crain, "Gumshoe" Gumshoe  (Real Kind, May 2)  

- Echolalia, "Twisted Hemlock" Echolalia  (Full Time Hobby, 25)

- Edith Frost, "Little Sign" In Space  (Drag City,, 25)

- Judy Blank, "Fading Star" Lil' Mood EP  (Rounder, Mar 14)  D

- Craig Finn, "Bethany" Always Been  (Tamarac, Apr 4)

- Julien Baker & TORRES, "Tuesday" Send a Prayer My Way  (Matador, Apr 18)

- Joshua Burnside, "Good Life" Teeth Of Time  (Nettwerk, 25)  D

- Eli Winter, "Cracking the Jaw" A Trick Of the Light  (Three Lobed, May 2)  D

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To enjoy any Spotify ROUTES-cast, just open Spotify and search for "routesandbranches" to access this most recent playlist, as well as many others from past months.  Or click here for a preview:

ROUTES-cast February 23, 2025

ROUTES & BRANCHES

featuring the very best of americana, alt.country and roots music

February 23, 2025

Scott Foley, purveyor of dust

Please meet A Routes & Branches Guide To Feeding Your Monster, our enduringly updated new release calendar. Since we last met, we added new stuff from artists that matter such as James Elkington, Will Johnson, William Tyler, Jerry David DeCicca, David Lowery, and so many more. Entries to our Spotify ROUTES-cast below marked with a 'D' identify debuts, typically a new single or the start of a new album cycle if we're lucky. 

ROUTES-cast February 23, 2025

^ Jesse Welles, "Why Don't You Love Me" Middle  (Welles, 25)

- Emily Hines, "Cowgirl Suit" single  (Keeled Scales, 25)  D

- James Felice, "Pickup Line" The Little Ones  (Million Stars, 25)

- Noeline Hofmann, "The Bullfighter" single  (La Honda, 25)  D

- Drayton Farley, "Luck On the Bright Side" single  (Hargrove, 25)  D

- Justin Wells, "Little Buildings" Cynthiana  (Wells, 25)

- Andrew Duhon, "Shotgun Religion" Parish Record  (Well Kept Secret, Apr 4)  D

- Jaime Wyatt, "I'd Rather Be Lonely" single  (New West, 25)  D

- Palmyra, "Arizona" Restless  (Oh Boy, Mar 28)

- Sierra Hull, "Spitfire" Tip Toe High Wire  (Hull, Mar 7)

- Charley Crockett, "Game I Can't Win" Lonesome Drifter  (Island, Mar 14)

- Hailey Whitters, "Prodigal Daughter (ft Molly Tuttle)" single  (Pigasus, 25)  D

- Pug Johnson, "Hole In Me" El Cabron  (Break Maiden, Mar 28)

- Janet Simpson, "214" single  (Cornelius Chapel, 25)  D

- Brown Horse, "Dog Rose" All the Right Weaknesses  (Loose, Apr 4)

- Will Johnson, "Floodway Fall" Diamond City  (Keeled Scales, Apr 4)  D

- Caamp, "Let Things Go" Somewhere EP  (Mom + Pop, 25) D

- Hannah Cohen, "Draggin'" Earthstar Mountain  (Bella Union, Mar 28)

- Califone, "gas station roller doggs" Villager's Companion  (Jealous Butcher, 25)

- Patterson Hood, "Forks Of Cypress (ft Waxahatchee)" Exploding Trees & Airplane Screams  (ATO, 25)

- Jerry David DeCicca, "Long Distance Runner" Cardiac Country  (JDC, Apr 25)  D

- Hurray For the Riff Raff, "Pyramid Scheme" single  (Nonesuch, 25)  D

- Silver Synthetic, "Cool Blue Night" Rosalie  (Curation, Mar 7)

- Mike Farris, "Ease On" Sound Of Muscle Shoals  (Compass, Mar 7)

- Sunny War, "One Way Train" Armageddon In a Summer Dress  (New West, 25)

- M Ross Perkins, "I Don't Wanna Be So High" What's the Matter M Ross  (Colemine, May 2)  D

- Little Barrie & Malcolm Catto, "Electric War" Electric War  (Easy Eye, Apr 18)

- Wendy Eisenberg ,"I Don't Miss You" single  (Joyful Noise, 25)  D

- Fust, "Mountain Language" Big Ugly  (Dear Life, Mar 7)

- Attention Bird Utopia, "Infinity Inside a Shopping Cart" Best Of Kings  (here here, Jun 6)  D

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To enjoy any Spotify ROUTES-cast, just open Spotify and search for "routesandbranches" to access this most recent playlist, as well as many others from past months.  Or click here for a preview:

ROUTES-cast February 16, 2025

ROUTES & BRANCHES

featuring the very best of americana, alt.country and roots music

February 16, 2025

Scott Foley, purveyor of dust

In the neverending music-go-round that is Routes & Branches, we've tried to do our best to keep things focused on the music. We don't pull back the curtain too often to address what's happening Behind the Music. We're yanking on the drapes today, updating our dedicated reader(s) on what to expect when you tune into our blog. 

We'll keep it short and to the point here. Other commitments (stuff that pays a little better than blogging) are compromising our attention. Starting right here, right now, we're going to apply our limited attention span to the stuff that has always mattered most - this recurring Spotify ROUTES-cast thing that we deliver every Sunday. That, and our Routes & Branches Guide To Feeding Your Monster. Anything besides that will be bonus content, be it reviews, other lists, news, etc. 

Someday when we grow up, we hope to be able to dedicate seven days of blood, sweat, and tears to this thing, but that won't happen today. Rest assured you're still getting the very best of what we do here at R&B HQ, drawing your attention to music that matters, shoving you unceremoniously into the sandbox of music discovery. Please behave. 

ROUTES-cast February 16, 2025

^ James Felice, "Barry's Blues" The Little Ones  (Million Stars, 25)  D

- Beirut, "Guericke's Unicorn" A Study Of Losses  (Pompeii, Apr 18)  D

- Delines, "Don't Miss the Bus Lorraine" Mr Luck and Ms Doom  (El Cortez, 25)

- Lucette, "Too Soon For Sorry" Nice Girl From the Suburbs EP  (Prairie Blue, Mar 21)

- Them Coulee Boys, "As Long As You Let Me" No Fun In the Chrysalis  (Some Fun, Feb 28)

- Sarah Borges, "Mercy Of the Moon" single  (Lakeside Lounge, 25)  D

- Jason Isbell, "Foxes In the Snow" Foxes In the Snow  (Southeastern, Mar 7)

- Gary Louris, "Listening To Bobby Charles" Dark Country  (SHAM, 25)

- Justin Wells, "Up There With the Angels" Cynthiana  (Wells, Feb 20)

- Arny Margret, "Greyhound Station" I Miss You I Do  (one little independent, Mar 7)

- Will Stewart, "Late For the Banquet" Moon Winx  (Earth Libraries, Feb 28)

- Mike Frazier, "Ballard Avenue" April Days  (Geneva, Apr 25)

- Ron Pope, "Nobody's Gonna Make It Out Alive" American Man American Music  (Brooklyn Basement, 25)

- Kristina Murray, "Watchin' the World Pass Me By" Little Blue  (Normaltown, May 9)  D

- Adam Hood & Brent Cobb, "Four On the Floor" single  (Southern Songs, 25)  D

- Larry Fleet, "Hard Work & Holy Water" single  (Fleet, 25)  D

- Sam Outlaw, "I Never Saw Him Cry" Nonessential Sam Outlaw  (Black Hills, Mar 24)  D

- Jason Boland & the Stragglers, "Take Me Back To Austin" Last Kings Of Babylon  (Proud Souls, Mar 14)

- Muscadine Bloodline, "Chickasaw Church Of Christ" And What Was Left Behind  (Stancaster, Apr 11)  D

- Matt Steinfeld, "So He Claims" single  (Steinfeld, 25)  D

- Leif Vollebekk, "LOVE." single  (Secret City, 25)  D

- Savanna Conley, "If You Don't Want My Love" Playing the Part Of Them Is Me EP  (Good Boy Leo, 25)  D

- Will Stratton, "Bardo Or Heaven" Points Of Origin  (Bella Union, Mar 7)

- Futurebirds, "Patron Lady Beautiful" Let's Go Dancing: Songs Of Kevn Kinney  (Tasty Goody, 25)

- Ben Kweller, "Dollar Store (ft Waxahatchee)" Cover the Mirrors  (Noise, May 30)

- Minus 5, "Words & Birds" Oar On Penelope  (Yep Roc, May 30)  D

- Dead Gowns, "See People" It's Summer I Love You and I'm Surrounded By Snow  (Mtn Laurel, 25)

- Candi Staton, "My God Has a Telephone (ft William Bell)" Back to My Roots  (Beracah, 25)  D

- Massy Ferguson, "So Long Carry On" You Can't Tell Me I'm Not What I Used To Be  (North and Left, 25)

- William Tyler, "Concern" Time Indefinite  (Psychic Hotline, Apr 25)  D

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To enjoy any Spotify ROUTES-cast, just open Spotify and search for "routesandbranches" to access this most recent playlist, as well as many others from past months.  Or click here for a preview:

WHAT's SO GREAT ABOUT THiS WEEK?!! (February 15, 2025)

ROUTES & BRANCHES

featuring the very best of americana, alt.country and roots music

February 15, 2025

Scott Foley, purveyor of dust

WHAT's SO GREAT ABOUT THiS WEEK?!!  (February 15, 2025)

Beirut, "Guericke's Unicorn" A Study Of Losses  (Pompeii, Apr 18)

Our kind of music is really not known for the creativity and innovation of its videos, but here's an exception. As we mentioned in yesterday's post, Zach Condon's forthcoming Beirut record is the soundtrack to a Swedish circus. "Guericke's Unicorn" is as terrific as a Beirut song can be, with a lovely video to match.  Per Condon: I had been pigeonholed for years as a whimsical circus waif, full of sepia-toned images of penny farthings and perhaps lion tamers with handlebar mustaches. It couldn't have been further from how I pictured the music I was making. 

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Kristina Murray, "Watchin' the World Pass Me By" Little Blue  (Normaltown, May 9)

We've known she'd make something of herself since her 2013 Unravelin' album. Finally signed to a big-ish label, Murray is more than ready for her proverbial close-up. With its tongue-in-cheek self-deprecation, this first single checks Elizabeth Cook boxes, and the accompanying video shows plenty of personality (as well as featuring fellow songwriter Sean Thompson in a recurring role). Murray calls it, a kissoff to the music business, the arbitrariness of success, and the sometimes strong desire to quit it all and move to the beach ...

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Bon Iver, "Everything Is Peaceful Love" SABLE, fABLE  (Jagjaguwar, Apr 11)

This first glimpse into the forthcoming expanded edition of Justin Vernon's October SABLE, EP yields about as straightforward a song as we're bound to get from Bon Iver. Set to 80s-flavored programmed beats, "Everything" delivers a soulful soprano vocal from Vernon, as well as a curiously homespun video: It gives me what I want for this album, all in one video. The idea that happiness and joy are the highest form and the true buoyancy of survival, and even taking yourself less seriously could heal the world. Small dogs with funny eyebrows don't hurt either. 

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Dead Gowns, "See People" It's Summer I Love You and I'm Surrounded By Snow  (Mtn Laurel, Feb 14)

Genevieve Beaudoin released a demo of this single back in 2020, a take that lacked much of what works on this new recording. The pedal steel, the baritone guitar, the impossibly longing vocal all weave a beautifully haunting spell, reinforced by a moodily lit video. Dead Gowns doesn't always sound like this, but when they do, it's unbeatable. 

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Them Coulee Boys, "As Long As You Let Me" No Fun In the Chrysalis  (Some Fun, Feb 28)

On the third single from their forthcoming album this Wisconsin band succeeds in reaching well beyond their lively string band comfort zone, even adding momentary tubular bells. Group choruses and piano played with abandon - it all sounds like a hoot, even with the classic hangdog lyrics: Now I bang my chest / Where you used to lay your head / There's an indentation left where it once lay / I try to fill lit with the band / Alcohol, and my right hand / But nothing fills the hole just like you can / So please just stay. 

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