ROUTES-cast September 7, 2025

ROUTES & BRANCHES

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

September 7, 2025

Scott Foley, purveyor of dust

IF YOU ONLY LiSTEN to ONE RECORD THiS WEEK

On 2022's Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You, Big Thief featured "Spud Infinity", a twang-infused ramble with scratchy fiddle, mouth harp, and lyrics that bounced between corny and expansively wise. For better or worse, there is nothing like "Spud" on the trio's Double Infinity, their sixth full-length and first project without former bassist Max Oleartchik. Singer-lyricist Adrianne Lenker continues to write with one foot beneath the warm covers and the other bounding from one celestial body to the next, linking the sensual and the immediate with the universal. Where Dragon occasionally opted for that folky campfire acoustic vibe, Big Thief's new songs spiral through sonic space like the message of hippie astronauts. We're invited into their intimate circle in the midst of an extended jam, sounds more electric and deliberate than on Dragon, but no less loose or intuitive. Lenker is a wonder and a throwback, one of our genuine lyrical poets whose artistic explorations sound like no one else. 

ROUTES-cast September 7, 2025

^ Big Thief, "Words" Double Infinity  (4AD, 25)

- Friendship, "Hard to Love a Man" I Will Swim to You: Tribute to Jason Molina  (Run for Cover, 25)

- Wild Pink, "Fences of Stonehenge (ft John Moreland)" Dulling the Horns (Deluxe Edition)  (Fire Talk, Oct 3)  D

- Spoon, "Guess I'm Falling in Love" single  (Matador, 25)

- Julie Doiron, "Cryin' Kind" single  (Numero, 25)  D

- Steve Gunn, "Nearly There" Daylight Daylight  (No Quarter, Nov 7)  D

- Jack Schneider, "Crying in the Rain" Streets of September  (Jeffers, Sep 19)

- Caleb Elliott, "Slow Burn" single  (Single Lock, 25)

- Chris Lyons, "Talking Blues" Painter's Street  (Nudie, Oct 24)  D

- Son of the Velvet Rat, "White Patch of Canvas" single  (Rat Music, 25)

- Marfa, "American Lonely" single  (Ascend, 25)

- Sophie Gault, "Stowaway" single  (Torrez, 25)  D

- Grant-Lee Phillips, "Did You Make it Through the Night Okay" In the Hour of Dust  (Yep Roc, 25)

- Fruition, "I Dare You" single  (Fruition, 25)  D

- Joshua Hedley, "Boogie Woogie Tennessee" All Hat  (New West, Oct 24)

- Brit Taylor, "All for Sale" single  (Cut A Shine, 25)  D

- Robbie Fulks, "There's a Man" Now Then  (Compass, 25) 

- Brennen Leigh, "Tell Me" Don't You Ever Give Up On Love  (Signature Sounds, Oct 3)

- Paul Burch, "One if By Land" Cry Love  (Glider, Oct 10)  D

- Nicki Bluhm, "Tumbleweed" Rancho Deluxe  (Bluhm, Oct 3)

- LC Franke & Silverada, "Say Yes to Heaven" Prisoner EP  (Side Hustle, Sep 23)

- Luke Bell, "The King is Back" The King is Back  (All Blue, Nov 7)  D

- Clover County, "Whiskey Cherry" Finer Things  (Undercover Lover, Sep 26)

- Jr Thomas, "Life of the Party" Jr Thomas in the Eraserhood  (DeepMatter, Sep 26)

- Rosie Flores & Talismen, "Lines" Impossible Frontiers  (Mule Kick, Sep 26)  D

- Marcus King, "Heartlands" Darling Blue  (American, Sep 26)

- Todd Snider, "While We Still Have a Chance" High Lonesome and Then Some  (Aimless, Oct 17)  D

- Anna Tivel, "Airplane to Nowhere" Animal Poems  (Fluff & Gravy, 15)

- Janet Simpson, "Too Close to the Fire" Can I See You Tonight  (Cornelius Chapel, Sep 19)

- Jesse Sykes & the Sweet Hereafter, "Gentle Chaperone" Forever I've Been Being Born  (Southern Lord, Nov 28)  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 August 31, 2025

ROUTES & BRANCHES

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

August 31, 2025

Scott Foley, purveyor of dust

We think the byline of this site, the very best of americana, alt.country and roots music, is plenty. We've used it since The Radio Days, way back before the beginning of the blog. On the other hand, the byline also fails to encompass all we embrace here at R&B HQ. While we continue to feature the americana from which we spawned seventeen-ish years ago, genres are restricting by definition. The official party line has shifted here and there to accommodate changes in our kind of music, but mainstream americana atrophies over time. Current releases from artists who once landed on our year-end favorites list now might seem tired and lacking creativity. Or maybe we're just restless. 

Anyhow, this week's full releases include a satisfying indie-roots release from Foot Ox, another draught of soul-infused folk from Floating Action, the return of the reliable Moviola, and welcome projects from frequent end-of-year favorites Margo Price and Anna Tivel. Nevertheless:

IF YOU ONLY LiSTEN to ONE RECORD THiS WEEK

We're pleased to announce that, five albums deep into her career, Caroline Spence hasn't fallen into that aforementioned americana rut. Heart Go Wild, like 2019's excellent Mint Condition, doesn't deliver by pushing boundaries and flouting tradition. The epitome of a Nashville songwriter, Spence simply pens great country-folk songs and honors them with tastefully polished arrangements. Like Patty Griffin or Lori McKenna, she can be whisper-soft and vulnerable. Caroline Spence also wields an almost peerless ear for pop melodicism on songs like "Soft Animal" and "Effortless". She doesn't flirt with the edges of our kind of music, but she is the sort of just-under-the-radar gift that kindles our flickering hope in americana. 

ROUTES-cast August 31, 2025

^ Caroline Spence, "Where the Light Gets Through" Heart Go Wild  (Spence, 25)  

- Amanda Shires, "Piece of Mind" Nobody's Girl  (ATO, Sep 26)

- Rodney Crowell, "Louisiana Sunshine Feeling Okay (ft Larkin Poe)" Airline Highway  (New West, 25)

- Joan Shelley, "The Orchard" Real Warmth  (No Quarter, Sep 19)

- Anna Tivel, "Paradise" Animal Poems  (Fluff & Gravy, 25)

- Brothers Comatose, "Blue Mountain" Golden Grass  (Swamp Jam, Sep 12)

- Kolton Moore & Clever Few, "Brave the Weather" A Place That I Call Home  (Motion & Thought, Sep 26)

- Silverada, "Measure of a Man" Texas 42  (Prairie Rose, 25)

- Margo Price, "Love Me Like You Used To Do (ft Tyler Childers)" Hard Headed Woman  (Loma Vista, 25)

- Van Plating, "Song of Everything (ft Heather Little)" single  (Singular, 25)  D

- Brent Cobb, "Power Man (ft Cody Cannon, Whiskey Myers)" single  (Ol' Buddy, 25)  D

- S Carey, "Watercress" Watercress EP  (Jagjaguwar, Oct 3)  D

- Dean Johnson, "Perfect Stranger" I Hope We Can Still Be Friends  (Saddle Creek, 25)

- Tommy Prine, "Caught in the Wake" Love Circle EP  (Nameless Knight, 25)

- Case Oats, "Wishing Stone" Last Missouri Exit  (Merge, 25)

- Thomas Dollbaum, "Angus Valley" Drive All Night EP  (Dear Life, Sep 26)  D

- Scott Ballew, "One Trick Pony" Paradiso  (Leisure Rodeo, Sep 12)

- Moviola, "Hillbilly Effigy" Earthbound  (Dromedary, 25)

- Julianna Riolino, "Full Moon (ft Weird Nightmare)" Echo in the Dust  (MoonWhistle, Oct 24)

- Foot Ox, "Go With" A Lighthouse With Silver Dog Eyes  (Ernest Jenning, 25)

- Alabama Shakes, "Another Life" single  (Island, 25)  D

- Spoon, "Chateau Blues" single  (Matador, 25)  D

- Geese, "100 Horses" Getting Killed  (Partisan, Sep 26)

- Geckos, "Lo Hice" Geckos  (Geckos, Sep 26)

- Savannah Conley, "Love You Mean It" Love You Mean It EP  (Conley, Oct 24)  D

- Bright Eyes, "Dyslexic Palindrome (ft Hurray for the Riff Raff)" Kids Table EP  (Dead Oceans, Sep 26)  D

- Boo Boos, "Toughest Bitch I Know" Young Love  (Play it Again Sam, Sep 19)

- Floating Action, "History's Saddest Loadout" A Hand Carved Garden Tool  (Airloom, 25)

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

- Chat Pile & Hayden Pedigo, "Radioactive Dreams" In the Earth Again  (Computer Students, Oct 31)  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 August 24, 2025

ROUTES & BRANCHES

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

August 24, 2025

Scott Foley, purveyor of dust

This Episode finds us considering new collections from the consistently reliable Will Hoge, as well as an increasingly prominent Dean Johnson. We also show some appreciation for the debut full-length from Case Oats, Last Missouri Exit. That said ..

IF YOU ONLY LiSTEN to ONE RECORD THiS WEEK

Greg Freeman's second album, Burnover (Transgressive), might be just the thing for folks still laying awake worrying about the lack of an heir to Jason Molina's legacy. With its unspooled sounds, savage guitar, and haunted vision, it's a sonic snake coiling through ten songs. Burnover can be aggressive on "Gulch", or indirect and nearly experimental (see "Wolf Pine" or the sinister funhouse of "Curtain"). Freeman himself is somewhat of an enigma, sharing his 2022 debut I Looked Out with no fanfare or marketing, a record that only gradually reached the radars of rave reviewers. While he hails from Vermont, Freeman's strain of alt.country fits well alongside the current wave of North Carolina indie-roots artists. 

ROUTES-cast August 24, 2025

^ Greg Freeman, "Sawmill" Burnover  (Transgressive, 25)

- Wednesday, "Bitter Everyday" Bleeds  (Dead Oceans, Sep 19)

- Dean Johnson, "So Much Better" I Hope We Can Still Be Friends  (Saddle Creek, 25)

- Autumn Defense, "Love Lies" Here and Nowhere  (Yep Roc, Oct 10)

- Hannah Juanita, "Tears and Tequila" single  (Songbird, 25)  D

- Tommy Prine, "Space" Love Circle EP  (Nameless Knight, 25)

- Case Oats, "Buick Door" Last Missouri Exit  (Merge, 25)

- Pink Stones, "Too Busy" Thank the Lord ... It's the Pink Stones  (Normaltown, Sep 19)

- Far West, "Hope I Don't Bleed (ft Dave Alvin)" Everything We Thought We Wanted  (Blackbird, Sep 26)

- Briscoe, "Blue Eyes and Red Wine" Heat of July  (ATO, Sep 19)

- Deep Dark Woods, "Circle Remains Unbroken" Circle Remains  (Victory Pool, Oct 3)

- Robert Finley, "Holy Ghost Party" Hallelujah! Don't Let the Devil Fool Ya  (Easy Eye, Oct 10)

- Ken Pomeroy, "Bound to Rain" single  (Rounder, 25)  D

- Joshua Ray Walker, "Stuff" Stuff  (East Dallas, Oct 10)  D

- John Calvin Abney, "Transparent Towns" Transparent Towns  (Well Kept Secret, Sep 19)

- Lola Kirke & Willow Avalon, "Maps" single  (One Riot, 25)  D

- Nick Shoulders, "Dixie Be Damned" Refugia Blues  (Gar Hole, Oct 31)  D

- Jeremy Pinnell, "Standing Still" single  (SofaBurn, 25)  D

- Kathleen Edwards, "Billionaire" Billionaire  (Dualtone, 25)

- Steve Earle & Reckless Kelly, "Dead or Gone to Dallas" single  (Howe Sound, 25)

- Will Hoge, "Saint Agnes" Sweet Misery  (Edlo, 25)

- Jesse Welles, "Saddest Factory (with the Devil)" With the Devil  (Welles, 25)  D

- Greensky Bluegrass, "Old Barns" XXV  (Big Blue Zoo, Oct 31)

- Daniel Donato, "Yonder" Horizons  (Retrace, 25)

- Cut Worms, "Evil Twin" single  (Jagjaguwar, 25)  D

- James Yorkston, "Where's the Time" Songs for Nina and Johanna  (Domino, 25)

- Caitlin Canty, "Night Owl/Mourning Dove" Night Owl Envies the Mourning Dove  (Canty, Oct 2)

- Jeff Tweedy, "Feel Free" Twilight Override  (dBpm, Sep 26)

- Joey Kneiser, "Nothing's Wasted on the Soul"  Nothing's Wasted on the Soul  (Young Buffalo, 25)

- Weirs, "I Want to Die Easy" Diamond Grove  (Dear Life, Oct 3)  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 August 17, 2025

ROUTES & BRANCHES

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

August 17, 2025

Scott Foley, purveyor of dust

IF YOU ONLY LiSTEN to ONE RECORD THiS WEEK

Last week we were pressed for time, but would've tagged Ada Lea's when i paint my masterpiece for your listening assignment. This Episode, we're recommending an ambitious seven-piece prog-folk outfit, Racing Mount Pleasant. In 2023, a band named Kingfisher shared an ill-lit video of "Your New Place" for NPR's Tiny Desk Submissions. In a remarkably small space, the members shoehorned cinematic strings, bright horns, gritty electric guitar, and celebratory vocals for a dramatic result. That song introduces Racing Mount Pleasant, the new thirteen-track studio project from the group, now recording under that same name. While several writers have likened RMP to Black Country New Road, another act with plenty of members, these sessions seem more purposeful, perhaps less self-aware. Even with evolving rhythms and key signatures, there is an abiding laid-back spirit that is more pretty than indulgent. Racing Mount Pleasant catches an ensemble still exploring the boundaries of their collaboration, a musical snapshot on the road from one place to the next. 

ROUTES-cast August 17, 2025

^ Racing Mount Pleasant, "Outlast" Racing Mount Pleasant  (R&R, 25)

- Floating Action, "Shell of Former Self" A Hand Carved Garden Tool  (Airloom, Aug 29)

- Wicca Phase Springs Eternal, "Magic Moment" Mossy Oak Shadow  (Run for Cover, Sep 19)

- Trace Mountains, "Dark Don't Hide It" I Will Swim to You: Tribute to Jason Molina  (Run for Cover, Sep 5)

- Foot Ox, "Bed of Violets" Lighthouse With Silver Dog Eyes  (Ernest Jenning, Aug 29)

- Neko Case, "Winchester Mansion of Sound" Neon Grey Midnight Green  (Anti, Sep 26)

- Cataldo, "Cathode Glow" Two Way Mirror  (FIIJDIM, Oct 10)  D

- Margaret Glaspy, "Jesus Etc (ft Norah Jones)" Golden Heart Protector EP  (ATO, Sep 12)  D

- Cass McCombs, "Asphodel" Interior Live Oak  (Domino, 25)

- Carson McHone, "Idiom" Pentimento  (Merge, Sep 12)

- Dillon Warnek, "Pistol and a List of Demands" As the Neighbors Tried to Sleep  (Soggy Anvil, 25)

- Fruit Bats, "Let You People Down" Baby Man  (Merge, Sep 12)

- Katie Pruitt, "Risk" single  (Rounder, 25)  D

- Hans Chew, "She's a Seer" Land of Dreams  (Chew, Sep 5)  D

- David Newbould, "Rainy Day Heart" Average Fidelity Vol 1  (Blackbird, 25)

- Silver Synthetic, "Happy Ever After" single  (Curation, 25)  D

- Joey Kneiser, "Haint Blue" Nothing's Wasted on the Soul  (Young Buffalo, 25)  D

- Caitlin Canty, "Electric Guitar" Night Owl Envies the Mourning Dove  (Canty, Oct 2)

- Third Mind, "Reno Nevada" Right Now!  (Yep Roc, Sep 19)

- Kyle Morgan & Tamar Korn, "Life's Railway to Heaven" Darkening Green  (Jalopy, 25)

- Joseph Decosimo, "Glory in the Meetinghouse" Fiery Gizzard  (Dear Life, 25)

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

- Joelton Mayfield, "Turpentine (You Know the One)" Crowd Pleaser  (Bloodshot, Oct 24)

- Ruston Kelly, "Waiting to Love You" Pale Through the Window  (Rounder, Sep 12)

- Langhorne Slim, "Dream Come True" single  (Dualtone, 25)  D

- Molly Tuttle, "Everything Burns" So Long Little Miss Sunshine  (Nonesuch, 25)

- LC Franke & Silverada, "Prisoner (Southern Bloom)" The Prisoner EP  (Side Hustle, Sep 23)  D

- Mike Reid & Joe Henry, "Weather Rose" Life and Time  (Work Song, Sep 5)

- St Paul & the Broken Bones, "Full Moon" St Paul & the Broken Bones  (Oasis Pizza, Oct 10)

- Jeb Loy Nichols, "First Night Away From Home" This House is Empty Without You  (Timmion, Oct 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 August 10, 2025

ROUTES & BRANCHES

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

August 10, 2025

Scott Foley, purveyor of dust

ROUTES-cast August 10, 2025

^ Ada Lea, "Bob Dylan's 115th Haircut" when i paint my masterpiece  (Saddle Creek, 25)

- Chris Staples, "San Pedro Avenue" Don't Worry  (Hot Tub, 25)

- Big Thief, "Los Angeles" Double Infinity  (4AD, Sep 5)

- Nadia Reid, "Not Giving It Out" single  (Chrysalis, 25)  D

- Trevor Sensor, "New York Mourning" A Few Tears of Eros  (High Black Desert, 25)

- Otis Gibbs, "Ditchweed" Ditchweed EP  (Gibbs, 25)

- Robbie Fulks, "Workin' No More Blues" Now Then  (Compass, Sep 5)  D

- T Hardy Morris, "Poets in the Mist" Artificial Tears  (Normaltown, 25)

- Far West, "Joshua Tree" Everything We Thought We Wanted  (Blackbird, Sep 26)  D

- Last Revel, "Wasted Time" single  (Revel, 25)  D

- Clover County, "Good Game" Finer Things  (Undercover Lover, Sep 26)

- Rhett Miller, "Come As You Are (ft Evan Felker)" A lifetime of riding by night  (ATO, Oct 10)  D

- Caroline Spence, "Heart Go Wild" Heart Go Wild  (Spence, Aug 29)

- Kathleen Edwards, "Little Red Ranger" Billionaire  (Dualtone, Aug 22)

- Grant-Lee Phillips, "Little Men" In the Hour of Dust  (Yep Roc, Sep 5)

- Jamie Lin Wilson, "Ways to Be Wicked" single  (JLW, 25)  D

- Nicki Bluhm, "Simple Side of Me" Rancho Deluxe  (Bluhm, Oct 3)

- Hayes Carll, "May I Never (ft Gordy Quist, Shovels & Rope, Darrell Scott, Nicole Atkins, Ed Jurdi, Ray Wylie Hubbard)" We're Only Human  (Hwy 87, 25)

- Charley Crockett, "Tennessee Quick Cash" Dollar a Day  (Island, 25)

- Abby Hamilton, "Midnight Call" single  (Hamilton, 25)  D

- David Newbould, "If You Won't Take My Hand" Average Fidelity Vol 1  (Blackbird, Aug 15)

- Lera Lynn, "Beige" Comic Book Cowboy  (Ruby Range, Sep 19)

- Jack Schneider, "Stone's Throw Away" Streets of September  (Jeffers, Sep 19)  D

- Joan Shelley, "Everybody" Real Warmth  (No Quarter, Sep 19)  D

- Mariel Buckley, "Swim Practice" Strange Trip Ahead  (Birthday Cake, Oct 17)  D

- Jason Eady, "Am I the Only One" single  (Old Guitar, 25)

- Rachel Baiman w/Viv & Riley, "Hold On Magnolia" Kissing Other ppl  (Peacedale, 25)

- Cass McCombs, "I Never Dream About Trains" Interior Live Oak  (Domino, Aug 15)

- Lucy Dacus, "Bus Back to Richmond" single  (Geffen, 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 August 3, 2025

ROUTES & BRANCHES

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

August 3, 2025

Scott Foley, purveyor of dust

This Episode delivers a very good solo debut from Travis Roberts, a very good solo debut from Emily Hines, and the return of Patrick Sweany. But ...

IF YOU ONLY LiSTEN to ONE RECORD THiS WEEK

... we're recommending a solo, live set from songwriter-guitarist Rosali, Slow Pain: Live and Solo from Drop of Sun. If you've been lurking at R&B HQ for a couple years, you've caught our reviews of Rosali Middleman's last few projects, Trouble Anyway (2018), No Medium (2021) and last year's Bite Down. Her 2024 album presented Rosali as a fiery frontperson for David Nance's band Mowed Sound, capable of whipping up a chunky guitar squall. Slow Pain calms that storm, offering many of the record's studio tracks stripped to vocal and electric guitar, showcasing Rosali's soulfully resonant delivery. Set to tape before a small and very well-behaved audience at Drop of Sun Studios in North Carolina, this is the rare live session without crowd noise (just like we like), sounds that will draw the listener in for an intimate experience. 

ROUTES-cast August 3, 2025

^ Rosali, "My Kind (solo)" Slow Pain: Live and Solo from Drop of Sun  (Merge, 25)

- Nathaniel Rateliff, "A Little More Too (demo)" Nathaniel Rateliff & Night Sweats (10th Anniversary Edition)  (Stax, Oct 10)  D

- Otis Gibbs, "Holy River Blues" single  (Gibbs, 25)

- Patrick Sweany, "Golden Fields" Baby It's Late  (Nine Mile, 25)

- Ben Chapman, "Tulsa Turnaround" Live From Overnite Studio EP  (Hippie Shack, 25)  D

- Wood Brothers, "Slow Rise (to the middle)" Puff of Smoke  (Honey Jar, 25)

- Nude Party, "Not That Bad" single  (Nude Party, 25)  D

- Emily Hines, "Cowgirl Suit" These Days  (Keeled Scales, 25)

- Joseph Decosimo, "Billy Button" Fiery Gizzard  (Dear Life, Aug 15)

- Glass Hours, "Colorado" single  (Cornelius Chapel, 25)

- Karen Jonas, "arson games" single  (Yellow Brick, 25)  D

- Greensky Bluegrass, "Reverend (ft Billy Strings)" XXV  (Big Blue Zoo, Oct 31)  D

- Molly Tuttle, "Old Me (New Wig)" So Long Little Miss Sunshine  (Nonesuch, Aug 15)

- Tommy Prine, "Standing in the Middle" Love Circle EP  (Nameless Knight, Aug 20)  D

- Kathleen Edwards, "When the Truth Comes Out" Billionaire  (Dualtone, Aug 22)

- Tift Merritt, "Last Day I Knew What to Do" Time and Patience  (One Riot, Aug 29)

- Van Plating, "What About Tomorrow (ft Mike McClure)" single  (Singular, 25)  D

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

- Kolton Moore & Clever Few, "Strawberry Thief" A Place That I Call Home  (Motion & Thought, Sep 26)

- Hannah White, "Hard Hitting Memories" Fine Day  (Last Music Co, Sep 19)

- Caleb Elliott, "I Don't Believe You (ft Secret Sisters)" single  (Single Lock, 25)  D

- Pink Stones, "Real Sad Movies Big Jet Planes" Thank the Lord ...  (Normaltown, Sep 19)

- Zach Williams, "Killed a Man" Jesus Saves  (Provident, Dec 12)  D

- Sunny Sweeney, "Last Hard Bible" Rhinestone Requiem  (Aunt Daddy, 25)

- Morgan Wade, "Parking Garage" Party is Over (recovered)  (Ladylike, 25)

- Travis Roberts, "Rebel Rose" Rebel Rose  (New West, 25)

- Foot Ox, "Bleached Yellow" A Lighthouse With Silver Dog Eyes  (Ernest Jenning, Aug 29)

- Keaton Henson, "Lazy Magician (ft Julia Steiner)" single  (Play it Again Sam, 25)  D

- Iron & Wine w/Bed Bridwell, "Luther" Making Good Time EP  (Black Cricket, Sep 12)  D

- Floating Action, "Moving in a Perfect Arc" A Hand Carved Garden Tool  (Airloom, Aug 29)  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 July 27, 2025

ROUTES & BRANCHES

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

July 27, 2025

Scott Foley, purveyor of dust

Um ...

IF YOU ONLY LiSTEN to ONE RECORD THiS WEEK

... maybe we can't help you. One of the year's most crowded weeks for mainstream americana releases brings us new LPs from some of the more prominent names in our kind of music. What's more, we're also graced with new stuff from genre outliers and fringe dwellers. Honestly, just print out this week's playlist, mount it to the wall, and toss a dart. You're bound to land on something that's worth your time: The welcome return of Patty Griffin, our first true full solo LP from Lucero frontguy Ben Nichols, a fine dose of roots-pop from Night Moves, exquisite folk from Yoshika Colwell. Not to mention good stuff from Tyler Childers and Cory Hanson. Pressed to select just one (1), we might lean towards the intro of Australian indie/folk outfit Folk Bitch Trio, Now Would Be a Good Time (Jagjaguwar). The Staves with a subversive edge, or Haim gone acoustic. The Trio wrap it all in lovely harmonies that speak to tradition, while embracing an attitude and outlook that are entirely of today. 

ROUTES-cast July 27, 2025

^ Folk Bitch Trio, "Hotel TV" Now Would Be a Good Time  (Jagjaguwar, 25)

- Ada Lea, "Midnight Magic" when i paint my masterpiece  (Saddle Creek, Aug 8)

- Why Bonnie, "Fast (Demo)" Bedroom EP  (Fire Talk, 25)

- John Calvin Abney, "Last Chance" Transparent Towns  (JCA, Sep 19)  D

- Yoshika Colwell, "Last Night" On the Wing  (PIAS, 25)

- James Yorkston, "Oh Light Oh Light (ft Johanna Soderberg)" Songs for Nina and Johanna  (Domino, Aug 22)

- Mike Reid & Joe Henry, "Life and Time" Life and Time  (Work Song, Sep 5)  D

- Patty Griffin, "Way Up to the Sky" Crown of Roses  (PGM, 25)

- Briscoe, "Heat of July" Heat of July  (ATO, Sep 19)

- Shovels & Rope, "Hopes & Dreams" single  (Dualtone, 25)  D

- Jr Thomas, "Never Be Another" Jr Thomas in the Eraserhood  (DeepMatter, Sep 26)

- Tyler Childers, "Snipe Hunt" Snipe Hunter  (Hickman Holler, 25)

- Ben Nichols, "While the Stars Disappear" Into the Heart of the Mountain  (Liberty & Lament, 25)

- Will Hoge, "Another Planet" Sweet Misery  (Edlo, Aug 15)

- Cody Jinks, "Lost Highway" In My Blood  (Late August, 25)

- Sierra Ferrell & Nikki Lane, "Lesson in Leavin'" single  (Rounder, 25)  D

- Charley Crockett, "All Around Cowboy" Dollar a Day  (Island, Aug 8)

- Honeydogs, "Kill Switch" Algebra for Broken Hearts  (Jullian, 25)

- Droptines, "Take Too Much" single  (Big Loud, 25)  D

- Wednesday, "Pick Up That Knife" Bleeds  (Dead Oceans, Sep 18)

- Cory Hanson, "Texas Weather" I Love People  (Drag City, 25)

- Chris Staples, "A Cold New York Morning" Don't Worry  (Hot Tub, Aug 5)

- Geckos, "El Techno" Geckos  (Org, Sep 26)

- Bright Eyes, "1st World Blues" single  (Dead Oceans, 25)  D

- Case Oats, "Nora" Last Missouri Exit  (Merge, Aug 22)

- Night Moves, "Trying to Steal a Smile" Double Life  (Domino, 25)

- Trevor Sensor, "When I Had the Gall" A Few Tears of Eros  (High Black Desert, Aug 8)

- Anna Tivel, "White Goose" Animal Poem  (Fluff & Gravy, Aug 29)

- Gwenifer Raymond, "Last Night I Heard the Dog Star Bark" Last Night I Heard the Dog Star Bark  (We Are Busy Bodies, Sep 5)

- Nathan Evans Fox, "Hillbilly Hymn (Okra and Cigarettes)" single  (Free Dirt, 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: