ROUTES-cast November 9, 2025

ROUTES & BRANCHES

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

November 9, 2025

Scott Foley, purveyor of dust

It's not like we were having a problem settling on this week's pick. Whitney return with another satisfying breeze of soft indie rock. Mynabirds' Bandcamp-only full-length is as pop-leaning a project as Laura Burhenn has created.  It's great to hear Mavis Staples' take on some more contemporary tunes. And we've been enjoying the genuinely original country-soul of Jeb Loy Nichols since the turn of the century. We had a lot to choose from, but then this happened:

IF YOU ONLY LiSTEN to ONE RECORD THiS WEEK

We celebrated Olympia's Pigeon Pit on the occasion of their full-length, Crazy Arms, in January. Back then, we crowned frontwoman Lomes Oleander, a poet guide to our messed up world, and a voice for the young people who are inheriting it. Suddenly, we have Leash Aggression (Ernest Jenning) on our doorstep. Still trading in breathless country-punk, Pigeon Pit's new collection parses Oleander's journal-songs back to their bare minimum. Drums rattle, joined here and there, joined by fiddle, banjo, or keys, but Oleander and her furiously frailed guitar provide the draw, like a young John Darnielle holding court about human connection, crashing on couches, stealing a fleeting kiss, and lashing out against contemporary desolation. ... how did we all find each other / stray dogs wandering out of broken homes. Even more than earlier albums, Leash Aggression is a raw, lo-fi project, a frantic document of a generation in a specific space and time, pushing back against the last night on earth, decaying stars, i'm so in love with what we are ...

ROUTES-cast November 9, 2025

^ Pigeon Pit, "rearview mirror blues" Leash Aggression  (Ernest Jenning, 25)  D

- Snocaps, "Doom" Snocaps (Anti, 25)

- Whitney, "Evangeline (ft Madison Cunningham)" Small Talk  (Whitney, 25)

- Andrew Bird, "Capital I" Mysterious Production of Eggs (20th Anniversary Edition)  (Wegawam, Feb 27)

- Mountain Goats, "Peru" Through This Fire Across From Peter Balkan  (Cadmean Dawn, 25)

- Gunshy, "Two Years in Berlin" single  (Sleep, 25)  D

- Steve Gunn, "Hadrian's Wall" Daylight Daylight  (No Quarter, 25)

- Low Cut Connie, "Settle Down" single  (Contender, 25)  D

- Jeb Loy Nichols, "Black Water Girl" This House Is Empty Without You  (Timmion, 25)

- Cat Power, "Try Me" Redux EP  (Domino, Jan 23)  D

- Mavis Staples, "Human Mind" Sad and Beautiful World  (Anti, 25)

- Cordovas, "Step Outside" Back to Life  (Yep Roc, Jan 30)  

- Shovels & Rope, "People Ain't No Good (ft James Felice)" single  (Dualtone, 25)

- King Hannah, "This Hotel Room" single  (City Slang, 25)  D

- Droptines, "Tombstone" single  (Mercury, 25)  D

- 49 Winchester, "Changes" single  (New West, 25)  D

- Low Gap, "Beattyville (ft Julia DiGrazia)" single  (Cloverdale, 25)  D

- Bobby Dove, "Trans Canadian Blues" single  (Dove, 25)  D

- Marfa, "Little Lowdown" single  (Ascend, 25)  D

- James Steinle, "Growing In the Dark" Heat of Morning  (Soggy Anvil, 25)

- Andrew Combs, "Desperados Waiting for a Train (ft Rodney Crowell)" single  (All Blue, 25)  D

- Luke Bell, "Dark House of Fools" King is Back  (All Blue, 25)

- Bella White, "Little Things" single  (Rounder, 25)  D

- Joe Kaplow, "God Tastes Like Ice" single  (Sonder House, 25)  D

- Ben Chapman & Hayes Carll, "Satin Sheets" single  (Hippie Shack, 25)  D

- Tyler Ramsey & Carl Broemel, "Sail Away" Celestun  (Duo Quest, Jan 15)  

- Natalie Jane Hill, "Never Left Me" Hopeful Woman  (Dear Life, Mar 6)  D

- Muireann Bradley, "No Name Blues" Rose Dogs EP  (Decca, 25)

- Hem, "Sailor (Remastered 2025)" Rabbit Songs (25th Anniversary Edition) (Hem, Nov 28)

- Mariachi el Bronx, "Forgive or Forget" IV  (ATO, Feb 13)  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 November 2, 2025

ROUTES & BRANCHES

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

November 2, 2025

Scott Foley, purveyor of dust

Now that we've achieved November, we can almost see to the end of 2025. This allows us to populate the R&B calendar with our award-dodging year-end lists.

Nov 30: Favorite Covers

Dec 7: State of Americana

Dec 14: Favorite Songs

Dec 21: Christmas Christmas

Dec 28: Favorite Albums

IF YOU ONLY LiSTEN to ONE RECORD THiS WEEK

Regular readers are accustomed to our tendency to highlight less mainstream selections from week to week. F'rinstance, one of our favorite albums for the year is Alan Sparhawk's collaboration with Trampled by Turtles. This Episode, we'll direct your attention to another even left-er field pairing that brings together Chat Pile with Hayden Pedigo. We'd planned for In the Earth Again to be our weekly pick (we're even gonna leave their picture up there), but that was prior to the surprise appearance of Snocaps. 

Before Katie Crutchfield released her one-two volley of Waxahatchee's St Cloud and Tigers Blood, prior to MJ Lenderman's guitar-driven genre reset, there was PS Eliot. A product of twin sisters Katie and Allison Crutchfield, PS Eliot never really registered on the roots music radar like Waxahatchee and Lenderman. The sisters are back together with the surprise release of Snocaps (Anti), paired with Lenderman and producer/instrumentalist Brad Cook. Snocaps, the ensemble, are largely defined by the Crutchfields' close but edgy harmonies and sharp pop songwriting sensibilities, but are supported in their new supergroup by Lenderman's brashly melodic electric guitar. With songs that are brief and to the point, Snocaps strikes a balance between PS Eliot's bratty attitude and Waxahatchee's latter day indie-roots, which is not a great surprise given the fact that Cook and co contributed to those projects as well. These dozen songs will land softer on the ears of listeners of fringe and indie-adjacent roots music, those who recognized the importance of Waxahatchee's records to our kind of stuff. We quote all our friends / Like they're round table poets / The stars of old films. 

ROUTES-cast November 2, 2025

- Snocaps, "Angel Wings" Snocaps (Anti, 25)  D

^ Chat Pile & Hayden Pedigo, "Magic of the World" In the Earth Again  (Computer Students, 25)

- Ratboys, "Anywhere" Singin' to an Empty Chair  (New West, Feb 6)

- Weather Station, "Airport" single  (Fat Possum, 25)  D

- Micah P Hinson, "Hallow" Tomorrow Man  (Ponderosa, 25)

- Red River Dialect, "Basic Country Mustard" single  (Hinterground, 25)  D

- Alexa Rose, "Promising What" Atmosphere  (First City, 25)

- Aubrie Sellers, "Villain of the Week" single  (Carnival, 25)  D

- Matt Kivel, "Tidal Wave" Escape From LA  (Scissor Tail, Dec 12)  D

- Tim Heidecker, "Alone Until I'm Home" Passages: Artists in Solidarity  (Western Vinyl, Dec 5)

- Futurebirds, "Well Meaning SOB" Deluxe Company  (Dualtone, 25)

- Damien Jurado, "Celia Weston" Private Hospital  (Maraqopa, 25)  D

- Bartees Strange, "Ain't Nobody Making Me High" Shy Bairns Get Nowt EP  (4AD, 25)  D

- Julianna Riolino, "On a Bluebird's Wing" Echo in the Dust  (MoonWhistle, 25)

- HowlOwlHowl, "My Cologne" single  (HOH, 25)  D

- Greensky Bluegrass, "Past My Prime (ft Nathaniel Rateliff)" XXV  (Big Blue Zoo, 25)

- Infamous Stringdusters, "Light At the End of the Day" 20/20  (Americana Vibes, Feb 13)  D

- Marty Stuart, "Over the Moon" Space Junk  (Snakefarm, 25)  D

- Devil Makes Three, "Fingers to the Bone" Spirits (Deluxe Edition)  (New West, 25)

- Jesse Sykes & Sweet Hereafter, "Forever I've Been Being Born" Forever I've Been Being Born  (Southern Lord, Nov 28)

- Orville Peck, "Drift Away" Appaloosa EP  (Warner, Nov 14)  D

- Jeremy Pinnell, "Pink Champagne" Decades  (Sofaburn, 25)

- Colter Wall, "Longer You Hold On" Memories and Empties  (La Honda, Nov 14)

- Sophie Gault, "Unhinged" Unhinged  (Torrez, Jan 23)

- Joelton Mayfield, "Blame" Crowd Pleaser  (Bloodshot, 25)

- Cameron Knowler, "Sunflower River Blues" single  (Castle Dome, 25)  D

- Alice Phoebe Lou, "Sparkle" Oblivion  (Nettwerk, 25)

- Anna McClellan, "Always Changing" single  (Father/Daughter, 25)  D

- Nick Shoulders, "Western Meta Sin" Refugia Blues  (Gar Hole, 25)

- Lankum, "Ghost Town" single  (Rough Trade, 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 October 26,2025

ROUTES & BRANCHES

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

October 26, 2025

Scott Foley, purveyor of dust

This week, Chris Lyons steps from the ranks of Silver Synthetic for an unpolished, imperfect, and graceful solo project. Onetime Daniel Romano Outfitter Julianna Riolino presents her excellent second solo album. That said ...

IF YOU ONLY LiSTEN to ONE RECORD THiS WEEK

... we'd steer you in the direction of Joelton Mayfield's own debut collection, Crowd Pleaser (Bloodshot). Reportedly a decade in the making, the LP's roots trail back to Mayfield's time as a church music leader. The songwriter reminds us more than once that god's children never grow up, a theme that's not as much a condemnation as a confession. Crowd Pleaser was set to tape in a condemned family barn in Alabama, lending songs a spacious and unfinished spirit, whether on the big noisy "Baltimore" or the vulnerable acoustic "Mouth Breather". Like a tentatively received AM radio signal, the busy "Red Beam" is crowded with ambient noise and static. Elsewhere, Mayfield and his cohort range from heavy roots pop to a Southern country rock chug. On "Baltimore", he extends an invitation: there's a golden bowling alley up above // where god's throwing gutter balls again / and drinking wine with the son of man / and on the jukebox 'the Man in Me' plays / soft and low. Like Jason Hawk Harris or Richard Buckner, Joelton Mayfield pieces together his work with sonics and space, a soulful delivery and unguarded lyrics that make Crowd Pleaser among the year's most accomplished debuts. 

ROUTES-cast October 25, 2025

^ Joelton Mayfield, "Jacob Dreamed a Staircase" Crowd Pleaser  (Bloodshot, 25)

- Courtney Marie Andrews, "Keeper" Valentine  (Loose Future, Jan 16)  D

- Angela Autumn, "Garbage" single  (Gar Hole, 25)

- Patterson Hood, "Scott's Sister" single  (ATO, 25)  D

- Alexa Rose, "Atmosphere" Atmosphere  (First City, Oct 31)

- Palmyra, "Jubilee" single  (Oh Boy, 25)  D

- Jobi Riccio, "The Ridge" single  (Yep Roc, 25)  D

- Haley Heynderickx & Max Garcia Conover, "Boars" What of Our Nature  (Fat Possum, Nov 21)

- Jake Xerxes Fussell & James Elkington, "Callie Rose" Rebuilding  (Fat Possum, Nov 14)

- Laney Jones, "We Belong Together" single  (AHPO, 25)  D

- Abby Hamilton, "Fried Green Tomatoes" single  (Hamilton, 25)  D

- Pearla, "To Love Something" single  (First City, 25)  D

- Chris Lyons, "When Are You Coming Down" Painter's Street  (Nudie, 25)

- Jerry Leger, "Waves of Desire" Waves of Desire  (DevilDuck, 25)

- Savannah Conley, "I Want to Make a Mistake" Love You Mean It EP  (Conley, 25)

- Dove Ellis, "Pale Song" Blizzard  (Black Butter, Dec 5)  D

- Mountain Goats, "Rocks in My Pockets" Through This Fire Across From Peter Balkan  (Cadmean Dawn, Nov 7)

- Parts Work, "No Flowers" Parts Work EP  (Pintail Rendezvous, 25)

- Pinkerton Raid, "Holocene" Norwegian Wood EP  (DeConto, 25)  D

- Valerie June, "Runnin' and Searchin'"  single  (Concord, 25)  D

- Julianna Riolino, "It's a Shakedown" Echo in the Dust  (MoonWhistle, 25)

- Uncle Lucius, "Let Me Get a Lengua Plate (live)" Live in '25  (Boo Clap, Nov 21)  D

- Chaparelle, "When it Snows in Texas (ft Sierra Ferrell)" single  (Mom+Pop, 25)  D

- Nude Party, "Carolyn" Look Who's Back  (Nude Party, Feb 13)

- Tyler Halverson, "More Hearts Than Horses" In Defense of Drinking  (Big Hit Herefords, Feb)  D

- Ashley Ray, "Daughters" single  (Ray, 25)  D

- Benjamin Tod, "My Pride" single  (Tod, 25)

- Joshua Hedley, "Come Take a Ride With Me" All Hat  (New West, 25)

- Jonny Fritz, "Polished Turd" Debbie Downers  (Gar Hole, 25)

- Luke Bell, "Guitar Man" King is Back  (All Blue, Nov 7)

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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 October 19, 2025

ROUTES & BRANCHES

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

October 19, 2025

Scott Foley, purveyor of dust

Not a large amount of new full-length releases this Episode. Joshua Ray Walker tries some new sounds on Stuff,  Todd Snider channels Todd Snider for High Lonesome and Then Some. For our money, however:

IF YOU ONLY LiSTEN to ONE RECORD THiS WEEK

... we'd recommend Strange Trip Ahead (Birthday Cake), the third LP from Canadian singer-songwriter Mariel Buckley. Her first couple records were populated with a dark strain of countrypolitan, fully realized songs that could boldly push against expectations. Produced by Jarrad K (Ruston Kelly, Tommy Prine, Morgan Wade), Buckley's new sessions continue to build on that confidence and individuality, firmly rooted in folk and country roots while reaching into a more contemporary expression. Arrangements aside, much of Buckley's edge is a product of her lyrical choices, personal stories that are both poetic and raw: Loving myself / Feels like more trouble than it's worth. Ryan Funk's guitars and Luke Breiteneder's drums lend songs an electric spark, and the singer's low, drowsy delivery injects even the more upbeat songs with an air of knowing cynicism. But like Ruston Kelly, Mariel Buckley embraces this overcast spirit and makes it all exceptionally listenable, refreshingly engaging. 

ROUTES-cast October 19, 2025

^ Mariel Buckley, "Anvil" Strange Trip Ahead  (Birthday Cake, 25)

- Joshua Ray Walker, "Perfume" Stuff  (East Dallas, 25)

- Flatland Cavalry, "Gone" single  (Lost Highway, 25)  D

- Drayton Farley, "Turn Around" single  (One Riot, 25)  D

- Nick Shoulders, "Tatum Spring" Refugia Blues  (Gar Hole, Oct 31)

- Luke Bell, "Don't Mind if I Do" King is Back  (All Blue, Nov 7)

- Colter Wall, "Back to Me" Memories and Empties  (La Honda, Nov 14)

- Emily Scott Robinson, "Appalachia" Appalachia  (Oh Boy, Jan 30)  D

- Clay Street Unit, "Choctaw County (ft Lindsay Lou)" single  (Leo33, 25)  D

- Margo Price, "Maggie's Farm" single  (Loma Vista, 25)  D

- Jade Jackson, "Dream Big Darling" single  (Jackson Star, 25)  D

- Ladybird, "99" Clementine  (Dangit, 25)

- Langhorne Slim, "Rock N Roll" Dreamin' Kind  (Dualtone, Jan 16)

- Montvales, "Loud and Clear" single  (Free Dirt, 25)  D

- Lowest Pair, "Give it All Away" Always As Young As We'll Ever Be  (Delicata, Jan 23)  D

- Jeremy Pinnell, "Barabbas" Decades  (Sofaburn, Oct 31)

- Angela Autumn, "Millionaire Money" single  (Gar Hole, 25)  D

- Haley Heynderickx & Max Garcia Conover, "Fluorescent Light" What of Our Nature  (Fat Possum, Nov 21)  D

- Chris Lyons, "Long Gone" Painter's Street  (Nudie, Oct 24)

- Rural Alberta Advantage, "Falling Apart" single  (Saddle Creek, 25)  D

- Bones of JR Jones, "Dry Land" Radio Waves (Deluxe) (Bones, 25)  D

- Samantha Crain, "Cherry Plum (ft Wilderado)" single  (Crain, 25)  D

- I'm With Her w/Iron & Wine, "Flightless Bird American Mouth" Songs From the Stage: Glenside EP  (Rounder, 25)  D

- Ramsey Thornton, "Riverside" single  (Gar Hole, 25)  D

- Gold Star, "Happy" single  (Like Ltd, 25)  D

- Steve Gunn, "Morning on K Road" Daylight Daylight  (No Quarter, Nov 7)

- This is Lorelei, "Name the Band" Holo Boy  (Double Double Whammy, Dec 12)  D

- Langkamer, "Crows" No  (Breakfast, Jan 22)  D

- Chrissie Hynde, "County Line (ft Alan Sparhawk)" Duets Special  (Parlophone, 25)  D

- Maisy Owen, "My Youth is All For You" single  (Tompkins Square, 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 October 12, 2025

ROUTES & BRANCHES

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

October 12, 2025

Scott Foley, purveyor of dust

ROUTES-cast October 12, 2025

^ Ladybird, "Clementine" Clementine  (Dangit, 25)

- Dogwood Tales, "Electric Lines" single  (Cloverdale, 25)  D

- Rhett Miller, "All Over Again" a lifetime of riding by night  (ATO, 25)

- Cory Branan, "Steppin' Outside (ft Tyler Childers)" single  (Blue Elan, 25)  D

- Sammy Brue, "Lord I'm Ready Now" The Journals  (Bloodshot, Jan 23)  D

- Lukas Nelson & Sierra Ferrell, "Unknown Legend" single  (Sony, 25)  D

- Daniel Donato, "Another Dimension (ft Elle King)" single  (Retrace, 25)  D

- Benjamin Tod, "Kentucky Coal (ft Matt Heckler)" single  (Tod, 25)  D

- Jonny Fritz, "Slow Down" Debbie Downers  (Gar Hole, Oct 24)

- Melissa Carper & Theo Lawrence, "Dat Ain't Right" single  (Warner, 25)

- Mountain Goats, "Cold at Night" Through This Fire Across From Peter Balkan  (Cadmean Dawn, Nov 7)

- Hannah Frances, "Falling From and Further" Nested in Tangles  (Fire Talk, 25)

- The Dears, "Tomorrow and Tomorrow" Life is Beautiful  (Next Door, No 7)

- Whitney, "Damage" Small Talk  (Whitney, Nov 7)

- Autumn Defense, "Hearts Arrive" Here and Nowhere  (Yep Roc, 25)

- David Huckfelt, "Anything" single  (Don Giovanni, 25)  D

- Great Lake Swimmers, "Running Out of Time" Caught Light  (Harbour Songs, 25)

- Katie Pruitt, "Get It Over With" Pleasantville Sessions EP  (Rounder, 25)  D

- Langhorne Slim, "Haunted Man" Dreamin' Kind  (Dualtone, Jan 16)  D

- Al Nicol, "You and Me (ft Erin Rae)" Only Hoping  (Nicol, 25)

- Lucius, "Thick as Thieves" Thick as Thieves EP  (Fantasy, 25)  D

- Pearl Charles, "Birthday" single  (Taurus Rising, 25)  D

- Paul Burch, "Close to Love" Cry Love  (Glider, 25)

- St Paul & Broken Bones, "Seagulls" St Paul & Broken Bones  (Oasis Pizza, 25)

- Jeb Loy Nichols, "No Rest Without Love" This House is Empty Without You  (Timmion, Nov 7)

- Robert Finley, "Can't Take Away My Joy" Halleluah Don't Let the Devil Fool Ya  (Easy Eye, 25)

- Amythyst Kiah, "Goin' Away Party" It's All Her Fault: Tribute to Cindy Walker  (Hummin'bird, 25)

- Jake Xerxes Fussell & James Elkington, "Glow in the Dark" Rebuilding  (Fat Possum, Nov 14)

- Hem, "Half Acre (Remastered)" Rabbit Songs (25th Anniversary Edition)  (HEM, Nov 28)  D

- Muireann Bradley, "Clay Pigeons" Rose Dogs EP  (Decca, Nov 7)  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 October 5, 2025

ROUTES & BRANCHES

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

October 5, 2025

Scott Foley, purveyor of dust

ROUTES-cast October 5, 2025

^ Caitlin Canty, "High On a Lie"  Night Owl Envies the Mourning Dove  (Canty, 25)

- Clover County, "Anywhere" Finer Things  (Undercover Lover, 25)

- Molly Parden, "Another Friend" Semi Permanent EP  (Parden, 25)

- Hanging Stars, "Sister of the Sun" single  (Loose, 25)  D

- Nicki Bluhm, "Bay Laurel Leaves" Rancho Deluxe  (Bluhm, 25)

- Red Clay Strays, "People Hatin'" single  (RCA, 25)  D

- Sophie Gault, "Pocket Change (ft Mando Saenz)" Unhinged  (Torrez, Jan 23)  D

- Ole 60, "Smokestack Town" Smokestack Town  (Three Twenty Four, 25)

- Ward Davis, "Wouldn't Wanna Be Me Right Now" single  (MNRK, 25)  D

- Greensky Bluegrass, "In Control (ft Lindsay Lou)" XXV  (Big Blue Zoo, Oct 31)

- Micah P Hinson, "Walls" Tomorrow Man  (Ponderosa, Oct 31)

- Melissa Carper & Theo Lawrence, "All Fifty States" single  (Warner, 25)  D

- Luke Bell, "Roofer's Blues" The King is Back  (All Blue, Nov 7)

- Brennen Leigh, "Reason to Drink" Don't You Ever Give Up On Love  (Signature Sounds, 25)

- X-Rated Cowboys, "AM Gold" Hang 'em High  (X-Rated, 25)  D

- Al Nicol, "Only Hoping (ft Hiss Golden Messenger)" Only Hoping  (Nicol, 25)  D

- Deep Dark Woods, "Golden Petals" Circle Remains  (Victory Pool, 25)

- Amanda Shires, "Strange Dreams" Nobody's Girl  (ATO, 25)

- Cordovas, "Higher Every Time" Back to Life  (Yep Roc, Jan 30)  D

- Cataldo, "Clutch" Two Way Mirror  (FIIJDIM, Oct 10)

- Julianna Riolino, "Like a Rembrandt" Echo in the Dust  (MoonWhistle, Oct 24)

- Mavis Staples, "Sad and Beautiful World" Sad and Beautiful World  (Anti, Nov 7)

- Neko Case, "Match-Lit" Neon Grey Midnight Green  (Anti, 25)

- Jeff Tweedy, "Forever Never Ends" Twilight Override  (dBpm, 25)

- Michael Nau, "Hallway Overtone" single  (Colemine, 25)  D

- Benjamin Booker, "A Place For You" Passages: Artists in Solidarity With Immigrants  (Western Vinyl, Dec 5)  D

- Weirs, "Lord Randall" Diamond Grove  (Dear Life, 25)

- S Carey, "Daylight" Watercress EP  (Jagjaguwar, 25)

- Alan Sparhawk, "No More Darkness" Passages: Artists in Solidarity With Immigrants (Western Vinyl, Dec 5)

- Jesse Sykes & Sweet Hereafter, "Dead End Pools" Forever I've Been Being Born  (Southern Lord, Nov 28)

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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 September 28, 2025

ROUTES & BRANCHES

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

September 28, 2025

Scott Foley, purveyor of dust

We're juggling new stuff this Episode from Clover County, Neko Case, Amanda Shires, Jeff Tweedy, and so many many more. While we'd sincerely recommend making time for each and every one of those ... 

IF YOU ONLY LiSTEN to ONE RECORD THiS WEEK

The New York quartet Geese begin their third proper record with a curveball. "Trinidad" lurches forward on blurts of noise and a chorus featuring the  unhinged message: There's a bomb in my car!! Getting Killed (Partisan) follows 2023's 3D Country and last year's holiday surprise from frontman Cameron Winter, Heavy Metal. The new project finds its identity in Winter's baritone, careening between a soulful croon and a near-breakdown holler, alternately beautiful and unsettling. Credit is also due to Geese's percussionist, Max Bassin, who carves deep grooves and raises unholy rackets on the title track and the manic "Islands of Men". Getting Killed builds like Captain Beefheart fronted by Father John Misty, maybe with a touch of the Strokes' early brattiness. While the noise will generate headlines, songs like "Cobra" and "Taxes" lend the collection depth and soul that suggest Winter is more than a troubled novelty. In our neverending quest for that spot where different meets good, Geese ride on instantly appealing grooves, and can be a more engaging experience than rumors of skronky sax and Ukranian choral samples might suggest. 

ROUTES-cast September 28, 2025

^ Geese, "Cobra" Getting Killed  (Partisan, 25)

- Jeff Tweedy, "Western Clear Skies" Twilight Override  (dBpm, 25)

- Neko Case, "Rusty Mountain" Neon Grey Midnight Green  (Anti, 25)

- Bright Eyes, "Victory City" Kids Table EP  (Dead Oceans, 25)

- Thomas Dollbaum, "Warlock's House" Drive All Night EP  (Dear Life, 25)

- Elizabeth Moen, "Love Takes Miles" single  (Moen, 25)  D

- Boy Golden, "Suffer" Best of Our Possible Lives  (Six Shooter, Feb 13)  D

- Louisa Stancioff, "Look at Miss Ohio" single  (Yep Roc, 25)  D

- Amanda Shires, "Lately" Nobody's Girl  (ATO, 25)

- Droptines, "Calling All Cars" single  (Mercury, 25)  D

- Ladybird, "Famous Band" Clementine  (Dangit, Oct 10)  D

- Ratboys, "Light Night Mountain All That" single  (New West, 25)  D

- Van Plating, "Keep Your Soul (ft Isaac Hoskins)" single  (Singular, 25)

- Whiskey Myers, "Rowdy Days" Whomp Whack Thunder  (Wiggy Thump, 25)

- Ava Hall, "What About Yours" single  (JAVA, 25)  D

- Colter Wall, "1800 Miles" Memories and Empties  (La Honda, Nov 14)  D

- Ryan Bingham, "Lucky Ones (ft Texas Gentlemen)" single  (Bingham, 25)  D

- Luke Bell, "Black Crows" King is Back  (All Blue, Nov 7)

- Clover County, "Sweeter" Finer Things  (Undercover Lover, 25)

- Todd Snider, "High Lonesome and Then Some" High Lonesome and Then Some  (Aimless, Oct 17)

- Joshua Hedley, "All Hat (No Cattle)" All Hat  (New West, Oct 24)

- Jeremy Pinnell, "Too Much Sugar" Decades  (Sofaburn, Oct 31)  D

- Alexa Rose, "Anywhere, OH" Atmosphere  (First City, Oct 31)

- Cale Tyson, "Out Dancing Again" single  (Tyson, 25)  D

- Molly Parden, "Burnin" Semi Permanent EP  (Parden, 25)  D

- Jr Thomas, "Temptations" In the Eraserhood  (Deep Matter, 25)

- Chat Pile & Hayden Pedigo, "Demon Time" In the Earth Again  (Computer Students, Oct 31)

- Parts Work, "Trenton" Parts Work EP  (Pintail Rendezvous, Oct 24)  D

- Magnolia & Johnson Electric Co, "Wooden Heart" single  (Keeled Scales, 25)

- Jake Xerxes Fussell & James Elkington, "Contemplating the Moon" Rebuilding  (Fat Possum, Nov 14)  D

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