ROUTES & BRANCHES  

September 21, 2013
Scott Foley

The Americana Honors & Awards ceremony happened last week, and while the results were not exactly revolutionary, it's always a fine presentation.  For me, the awards themselves are just window dressing, compared to the evening's performances.  The fact that Emmylou & Rodney were recognized for album of the year is nice, but how about Dr. John performing with Dan Auerbach, Buddy Miller, Larry Campbell and the McCrary Sisters?  Dwight Yoakam's award for Americana Artist of the Year was well deserved, but when was the last time you saw Duane Eddy perform (or Robert Hunter, or Richie Furay for that matter)?  I have yet to begin the process of narrowing down my own favorites for 2013, though I'm tentatively looking forward to seeing what floats to the top. 

Last year, Lindi Ortega's Cigarettes & Truckstops landed on my 20 favorite albums list.  Less than a year later, Ortega is skewing things harder, darker and deeper on Tin Star.  Where Little Red Boots was sweet, and Cigarettes was edgy, the songs of Tin Star seem to speak from a more genuine place.  Ortega still references her "Little red books and a little black dress," and boasts a bustier and lace veil on her album jacket, but she seems more devoted to telling her story than fitting an image or making a certain impression.  Tin Star follows the storyline of an artist not entirely unlike Ortega herself, migrating from Canada to Nashville and facing the uphill battle for recognition.  Producer/guitarist Dave Cobb was also the man behind the board for Jason Isbell's stellar 2013 release.  Harder tunes like "Voodoo Mama" and "All These Cats" emphasize the rockabilly side of Ortega's musical equation, which has always been somewhat present, though never to this extent.  "Waitin' On My Luck To Change" and "Tin Star," on the other hand, are a couple of the strongest country ballads she has produced, in terms of pure songwriting. 

*  T Hardy Morris, "High Cotton"  High Cotton: Tribute to Alabama  (Lightning Rod, 13)
*  Joe Ely, "Treat Me Like a Saturday Night"  Joe Ely  (MCA, 77)
*  Emmylou Harris & Rodney Crowell, "Invitation To the Blues"  Old Yellow Moon  (Nonesuch, 13)
*  Rayland Baxter, "Bad Things"  ashkeLon  (ATO, 13)
*  Wood Brothers, "Sing About It"  The Muse  (Southern Ground, 13)
*  Shannon McNally, "But I Do"  Small Town Talk  (Sacred Sumac, 13)
*  4H Royalty, "Gas Cap Rag"  Liars & Outliers  (M12, 13) C
*  JD Wilkes & Dirt Daubers, "Apples & Oranges"  Wild Moon  (Plowboy, 13)
*  Elliott BROOD, "Rusty Nail"  Tin Type  (Paper Bag, 13)
*  Shovels & Rope, "Birmingham"  O' Be Joyful  (Dualtone, 12)
*  I See Hawks In LA, "Oklahoma's Going Dry"  Mystery Drug  (Self, 13)
*  Nathaniel Rateliff, "Don't Get Too Close"  Falling Faster Than You Can Run  (Mod y Vi, 13)  C,D
*  Kelly Willis & Bruce Robison, "9,999,999 Tears"  Cheater's Game  (Premium, 13)
^  Lindi Ortega, "Gypsy Child" Tin Star  (Last Gang, 13)
*  Deadwood Saints, "Flood of Nineteen Never"  single  (Self, 13)  C,D
*  Reckless Kelly, "Only Home I've Ever Known"  Long Night Moon  (No Big Deal, 13)
*  Roger Dean Young & Tin Cup, "Keremeos"  Threshold  (Copperspine, 07)
*  Yarn, "Take Me First"  Shine the Light On  (Self, 13)  D
*  Ha Ha Tonka, "American Ambition"  Lessons  (Bloodshot, 13)  D
*  Danny & the Champions of the World, "(Never Stop Building) That Old Space Rocket"  Stay True  (Loose, 13)
*  Zoe Muth & Lost High Rollers, "Such True Love"  Zoe Muth & Lost High Rollers  (Self, 09)
*  Dwight Yoakam, "Long Way To Go"  3 Pears  (Reprise, 12)
*  Yonder Mt String Band, "Don't Worry Happy Birthday"  EP13  (Self, 13)  C,D
*  Shonna Tucker & Eye Candy, "Austin Side"  A Tell All  (Sweet Nectar, 13)
*  Patterson Hood & Young Fresh Fellows, "Hate This Town"  Songs  For Slim  (New West, 13)  D
*  Slim Dunlap, "Ballad of the Opening Band"  Old New Me  (Restless, 93)

ROUTES & BRANCHES   

September 14, 2103

Scott Foley

On a day when the entire listening area and beyond was reeling in the aftermath of unprecedented flooding, it seemed almost silly to show up.  Just a block away from the flooded Left Hand Creek, I had already been evacuated for a couple days, relocating the R&B HQ to Holiday Inn Express, Room 209, with my wife, two teen boys and two dogs in tow.  Nevertheless, I was able to pick my way from street to rain-soaked street towards KRFC in Fort Collins.

As it turns out, the power to my house was soon restored, and as streets flowing like a river evolved into streets caked thick with mud, life has gradually, mercifully been returned to normal-ish.  Aside from some roof damage, the R&B HQ survived the wrath admirably, though it will be months into years before the larger Longmont Metro Area is fully restored.

In the meantime, I managed to navigate an entire Episode with nary a song about mighty floods or rainfall.  I did, however, introduce the new album from England's Danny & the Champions of the World.  While frontman Danny George Wilson has issued nearly a dozen albums (as a solo artist, with Grand Drive, and with the Champs), his work remains sorely unknown in the states.  Stay True is a muscular blast of soulful roots rock, as recognizably British as a Nick Lowe record, but as tightly soulful as Dan Penn's Muscle Shoals sound.  Songs like the tremendous "(Never Stop Building) That Old Space Rocket" boast a full horn section, but also allow for some sweet pedal steel from Melvin Duffy.  Pieces such as "Other Days" and "Talking About the Weather" strike that same balance, with banjo and mandolin sharing the grooves with sax and trumpet.  Stay True trades in a similar sort of storybook romanticism as 1950's rock-n-soul, with Mr Wilson serving as a very capable belter (see "Stop Thief").  It's fitting that on the aforementioned "Space Rocket" Wilson tells the story of a transformative trip with his father to see the Fabulous Thunderbirds.  Seems the young man might've taken home some pointers.  Here's hoping Danny & the Champions of the World find a much deserved foothold in the U.S. market. 

*  Two Cow Garage, "Stars & Gutters"  Death of the Self Preservation Society  (Last Chance, 13)
*  Lora Faye, "Judy Garland"  Waltzes  (New Song, 13)  D
*  Drive-by Truckers, "Don't Be In Love Around Me (live)"  Alabama Ass Whuppin'  (ATO, 13)  D
*  Have Gun Will Travel, "High Road"  Fiction Fact or Folktale  (This is Amer Music, 13)
*  Shelly Colvin, "Nine Rose Rocks"  Up the Hickory Down the Pine  (Self, 12)
*  Dixie Leadfoot & Brent Loveday, "Golden Ring"  internet single  (Harry Fox, 13) C,D
*  Defibulators, "Everybody's Got a Banjo"  Debt'll Get'em  (Pigcow, 13)  D
*  Carrie Rodriguez, "Got Your Name On It (live)"  Live in Louisville  (Luz, 09)
*  Reckless Kelly, "Girl I Knew"  Long Night Moon  (No Big Deal, 13)
*  Howlin' Brothers, "Troubled Waltz"  Sun Studio Sessions  (Self, 13)  D
*  Those Darlins, "In the Wilderness"  Blur the Line  (Oh Wow Dang, 13)
*  Sam Baker, "Isn't Love Great"  Say Grace  (Self, 13)
*  Drag the River, "Marooned"  internet single  (Last Chance, 13)  C
*  Sturgill Simpson, "Hey Now"  Bastard Children  (Self, 13)  D
*  Mindy Smith, "Tin Can"  Mindy Smith  (Giant Leap, 12)
*  John Moreland, "Gospel"  In the Throes  (Last Chance, 13)
*  Brian Wright, "Red Rooster Social Club"  Rattle Their Chains  (Sugar Hill, 13)
^  Danny & the Champions of the World, "Talkin' About the Weather"  Stay True  (Loose, 13)  D
*  Halden Wofford & the Hi Beams, "Reclamation Day"  Rocky Mt Honky Tonk  (Self, 13)  C
*  Patty Griffin, "Truth #2"  Silver Bell  (A&M, 13)  D
*  Lindi Ortega, "All These Cats"  Tin Star  (Last Gang, 13)  D
*  Star Anna, "Power of My Love"  Go To Hell  (Self, 13)
*  Robbie Fulks, "Long I Ride"  Gone Away Backward  (Bloodshot, 13)
*  Tift Merritt, "Lingering On"  Traveling Companion  (Yep Roc, 13)  D
*  Dwight Yoakam, "Heart Like Mine"  3 Pears  (Reprise, 12)
*  Munly, "Country Rain"  De Dar He  (What Are Records, 97)  C
*  Israel Nash Gripka, "Myer Canyon"  Israel Nash's Rain Plans  (Loose, 13)  D
*  Scott Miller, "Freight Train Heart/Stone Wall Love"  Big Big World  (FAY, 13)  D
*  Left Lane Cruiser, "Coley"  Rock Them Back To Hell  (Alive Naturalsound, 13)

ROUTES & BRANCHES  
September 7, 2013
Scott  Foley

I don't think I've been surprised by a Reckless Kelly album since I first came across their music in another land long, long ago.  There's a part of me that requires a certain degree of surprise in my music, waking me from the stupor of too many "pretty good" records.  I suppose the only surprise on the Austin band's new Long Night Moon is the reminder of how smoothly their brand of alt.country/red dirt rock pours into the ears.  These are sing-a-long songs from the third or fourth listen, taking their rightful place alongside some of the band's earlier favorites.  I almost take the Braun brothers' harmonies for granted on tunes like "Girl I Knew"; voices this close can only come from the throats of blood brothers.  I also like to think I require some edginess to my music.  Excellent, workmanlike playing pervades the disc, but the guitars on "Every Step of the Way" offer the album's sharpest edge.  Reckless Kelly demonstrate that rare quality, capable of appealing to both country traditionalists and folks who need their music a bit more road weary.  Appropriate to its title, Long Night Moon arrives with a black-light flashlight and a gatefold package that reveals codes, messages and artwork when viewed in the light of that device (I found this delightful, and shared it immediately with my son Logan).  So let's see:  no surprises, only occasional edge, careful polish and superficial packaging tricks.  There's apparently no reason I should enjoy Reckless Kelly, but it all comes down to the appeal of their songs.  "Wicked Twisted Road", "Break My Heart Tonight", "Crazy Eddie's Last Hurrah".  Reckless Kelly wrote the book for our kind of music, and sometimes bands like this can get lost in the shuffle of pretenders and sound-alikes.  It's only after a couple listens that I recognized that the unassuming, mid-tempo title track is something that only Reckless Kelly can do so perfectly.

Special thanks to Colorado's Hezekiah Goode for joining us in the studio for some chat and a couple great live tunes.  Hez seems a truly nice guy, with a great ear for lyrics and a rare intelligence as well. 

*  Britton Deuel, "Living My Way"  Sky Between the Pines  (Self, 13)  C,D
*  Scud Mt Boys, "You're Mine"  Do You Love the Sun  (Ashmont, 13)
*  Bob Schneider & TX Bluegrass Massacre, "Lady Down On Love"  High Cotton: Tribute to Alabama  (Lightning Rod, 13)
*  Sara Petite, "Movin' On"  Circus Comes to Town  (Self, 13)
*  Sarah Lee Guthrie & Johnny Irion, "Hurricane Window"  Wassaic Way  (Self, 13)
*  Austin Lucas, "Small Town Heart"  Stay Reckless  (New West, 13)
*  John Doe, "Peggy Sue Got Married"  Rave On Buddy Holly  (Concord, 11)
*  Laura Cantrell, "Too Late For Tonight"  When the Roses Bloom Again  (Diesel Only, 02)
*  Two Cow Garage, "My Friend Adam"  Death of the Self Preservation Society  (Last Chance, 13)
*  Whiskey Bottles, "Fell In Love With a Stranger"  Grandville  (Self, 13)  C
*  Band of Heathens, "Caroline Williams"  Sunday Morning Record  (BoH, 13)
*  Rayland Baxter, "Bad Things"  ashkeLon  (ATO, 13)  D
*  Bonnie Whitmore, "Reckless and Young"  There I Go Again  (This is Amer Music, 13)
*  David Ramirez, "An Introduction"  Apologies  (Self, 12)
*  Hezekiah Goode, "Fence of Colorado Stone"  live in studio   C
*  Hezekiah Goode, "Shooter in the Tower"  live in studio   C
*  Hezekiah Goode, "I Need You To Walk Away"  live in studio   C
*  Son Volt, "Roll On"  American Central Dust  (Rounder, 09)
*  Those Darlins, "In the Wilderness"  Blur the Line  (Oh Wow Dang, 13)   D
*  Brian Wright, "Over Yet Blues"  Rattle Their Chains  (Sugar Hill, 13)   D
*  The Sadies, "Leave the World Behind"  Internal Sounds  (Yep Roc, 13)
*  Somebody's Darling, "Back To the Bottle"  Jank City Shakedown  (Self, 12)
^  Reckless Kelly, "Long Night Moon"  Long Night Moon  (No Big Deal, 13)   D
*  Star Anna, "Mean Kind of Love"  Go To Hell  (Self, 13)
*  Nicki Bluhm & the Gramblers, "Til I'm Blue"  Nicki Bluhm & the Gramblers  (Little Sur, 13)

ROUTES & BRANCHES 

August 31, 2013
Scott Foley

My first exposure to Washington State's Star Anna came with her 2008 full length debut, Crooked Path.  One of my favorite albums of that year, it painted her as a young and uncompromising artist. 2009's Only Thing That Matters and 2011's Alone In This Together found Star Anna and her Laughing Dogs toughening up their sound, adding a dose of Joan Jett to the Loretta Lynn (as well as supportive blurbs from rockers Duff McKagan and Mike McCready).   Reportedly written during a time of great personal upheaval, the anguished vocals and slashing guitars on Star Anna's new Go To Hell certainly speak to that catharsis.  For every alt.country track like "Mean Kind of Love", there's another dark and stormy testament like the garage-y stomp "Power of My Love" that finds the singer exploring a new edge to her vocal.  While they're obviously very different artists, I could make a strong argument for Star Anna being the gritty yin to Brandi Carlile's more pristine yang. 

I've been playing Loveland, CO resident Hezekiah Goode's Two Billion Acres of Salt for several weeks now.  He offers a refreshingly skewed take on the ofttimes dry and sentimental western/cowboy tradition. Next Episode, Mr Goode will be tying his horse to the KRFC hitching post and joining me for some live music and chat around the radio campfire, possibly with friends in tow. 

*  Sons of Bill, "Broken Bottles"  One Town Away  (Gray Fox, 09)
*  Rusty Truck, "All Good"  Kicker Town  (Crosseyed, 13)
*  Emily Barker & Red Clay Halo, "Everywhen"  Dear River  (Linn, 13)
*  Have Gun Will Travel, "Standing At the End of the World"  Fiction Fact or Folktale  (This is American Music, 13)
*  Deer Tick, "Trash"  Negativity  (Partisan, 13)  D
*  Freakwater, "Dog Gone Wrong"  End Time  (Thrill Jockey, 99)
*  Lindi Ortega, "Tin Star"  Tin Star  (Last Gang, 13)  D
*  Hezekiah Goode, "Church Bells"  Two Billion Acres of Salt  (Self, 13)  C
*  Willie Sugarcapps, "Up To the Sky"  Willie Sugarcapps  (Royal Potato Family, 13)
^  Star Anna, "Come On Up To the House"  Go To Hell  (Self, 13)  D
*  Steve Earle & Del McCoury Band, "I'm Still In Love With You"  Mountain  (New West, 99)
*  Tim O'Brien & Darrell Scott, "Keep Your Dirty Lights On"  Memories & Moments  (Full Skies, 13)  D
*  Patti Fiasco, "Elvis"  Small Town Lights  (Self, 13)  C
*  Tony Joe White, "the Gift"  Who You Gonna Hoodoo Now  (Yep Roc, 13)  D
*  Over the Rhine, "Highland County"  Meet Me At the Edge of the World  (Self, 13)
*  Ronstadt, Parton & Harris, "High Sierra"  Trio II  (Rhino, 98)
*  Truth & Salvage Co, "Appalachian Hilltop"  Pick Me Up  (Megaforce, 13)
*  Band of Heathens, "Records In Bed"  Sunday Morning Record  (BoH, 13)
*  Left Lane Cruiser, "Juice To Get Lose"  Rock Them Back to Hell  (Alive Naturalsound, 13) D
*  Lee Bains III & Glory Fires, "Ain't No Stranger"  Bomb In Gilead  (Alive Naturalsound, 12)
*  Diana Jones, "O Sinner"  Museum of Appalachia Recordings  (Goldmine, 13)  D
*  Sadies, "Another Tomorrow Again"  Internal Sounds  (Yep Roc, 13)  D
*  Belle Jar, "Against Us Two"  Union Station  (Self, 13)  C
*  Mark Olson, "Rosalee"  My Own Jo Ellen  (Hightone, 00)
*  Lucero, "Closer You Get"  High Cotton: Tribute to Alabama  (Lightning Rod, 13)  D
*  I See Hawks In LA, "Yesterday's Coffee"  Mystery Drug  (Self, 13)
*  Ryan Adams, "When Pigs Fly"  Sandra Boynton's Frog Trouble  (Workman, 13)  D
*  Robbie Fulks, "When You Get To the Bottom"  Gone Away Backward  (Bloodshot, 13)