ROUTES & BRANCHES  

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

December 26, 2016

Scott Foley, purveyor of dust

I'm shakin' the dust of this crummy little town off my feet and I'm gonna see the world. Italy, Greece, the Parthenon, the Colosseum. Then, I'm comin' back here to go to college and see what they know. And then I'm gonna build things. I'm gonna build airfields, I'm gonna build skyscrapers a hundred stories high, I'm gonna build bridges a mile long...  --  George Bailey

Sure, we all have dreams.  We dream big.  We want little things to become bigger things, bad things to become better.  With time, some of these wishes are granted, others are forgotten and still more are harbored for a lifetime as hot little spots in the heart.  I've said it before that I always wanted to be a dj.  When given the chance, I did my best, building a radio home and furnishing it with all the best music I could find.  About this time last year, I predicted that I would burn down my radio home, and a couple months ago I did.  God help me, I miss being on the radio, sharing music with anyone who just might by happenstance trip across the exact right place on the dial and accidentally share my passions.  But I made the right choice to step away.  And in the meantime we have these short reviews and these playlists that still focus on all the great music I find, all the hard working independent artists who populate these pages.  

Make no mistake, 2016 brought us some fine music, stuff to stir our heart.  Music to fuel my trips down Hwy 287 and back, to make us thrill to be alive, at least for that moment.  While I started the list below several weeks ago, bigger and mightier blogs than mine have already shared their lists.  While I breathe it all in, the last twelve months of music, I'm once again grateful and humbled to put this stuff on the webs.  I dream that some kindred musical treasure hunter somewhere will find it, and that they will call it good.  I love what I do (and I hate it), and I know it's a musical vision that has real merit.  Beyond all hope, December has been the busiest traffic month ever for this blog, almost nine years old now.  I'll keep it going during 2017.  I won't burn it down, but will challenge myself to continue tilting against the windmills of popular music, pushing back against an industry that incorporates an ever thinner slice of what's out there. And in twelve months we'll take another look and see if we're any closer to realizing that vague dream.  

FAVORiTE ALBUMS of 2016

1. Lydia Loveless, Real  (Bloodshot, 8/19)  I remember heading into a record store during my mid-teens in Grants Pass, Oregon.  I can't even recall the name (though, curiously, I do know that it was next to an uninspiring cafe called The Black Forest), though I do remember searching my soul in deciding whether to purchase the Ramones' End of the Century, Pretenders' classic debut, or Rachel Sweet's Protect the Innocent.  The fact that I opted for the latter speaks loudly for my state of mind at the time.  Nevertheless, Lydia Loveless' new album would've fit fine beside all of the above, a retro punk-fueled slice of pop glory that surpasses all expectations.  You'll still hear twang now and then, primarily in Loveless' inescapable drawl, but it's nothing more than an ingredient in the mix rather than the driving spirit.  As with her 2011 breakthru (which also landed atop that year's favorites list), Real bears the standard for the current focus of Routes & Branches.  I don't need obvious twang, won't fall for cliche or predictability.  All I ask is genuine heart.

2. Drive-by Truckers, American Band  (ATO, 9/30)  There's certainly not a more relevant record released in 2016.  Always with at least one foot in the socio-political realm, American Band is the sound of a veteran band seriously regarding its role.  It's neither a rabble-rouser or an outright damning, but rather it's Patterson Hood's state of the nation, simply taking stock of our condition on songs like "Surrender Under Protest" or "What it Means".  "Ever South" and "Guns of Umpqua" take a more personal stance, while "Filthy and Fried" might satisfy longtime DbT fans who are just looking for a good time.

3. Alejandro Escovedo, Burn Something Beautiful  (Fantasy, 10/28)  You can't help but lower your expectations when a guy reaches this age.  Certainly he's seen his better days, he's riding on fumes, he's earned the right to coast.  Even if Burn Something isn't Gravity, it's his strongest effort at least since Real Animal, with an army of capable contributors who serve to support rather than smother his gifts.  Songs like "Horizontal" betray glam influences, while "Beauty of Your Smile" and the uber charming "Heartbeat Smile" trade in the sort of urban romantic punk that's been Escovedo's stock in trade since the beginning.  If you're looking for the long lost heart of rock, no need to look beyond this release.  And no need to make excuses for age.

4. Margo Price, Midwest Farmer's Daughter  (Third Man, 3/25)  Sure, there's Kacey Musgraves and Brandy Clark.  But I would argue that few artists, female or male, better embrace both the tradition and the promise of country music.  From the countrypolitan to the honky tonk and the bandstand, Price checks all the boxes without seeming as though she's playing a character or unnaturally forcing her talents.  When she hits her stride on "Tennessee Song" or "Four Years of Chances", she's a near equal to Stapleton.  On "Hands of Time", she the year's best.

5. Arliss Nancy, Greater Divides  (Gunner, 5/13)  2013's Simple Machines held court as my record of the year.  While Divides hasn't achieved those lofty heights, it's a much different, far deeper project for the Colorado band.  Cory Call achieves new heights in writing with tunes like "Dufresne" and "Finches", both heavier and more confessional than anything else in his repertoire.  New keyboards enhance the experience, following the band's alt.country punk into new sonic places.  All this without extinguishing the band's early hunger and passion.  While some of the songs allude to an underlying restlessness, one would hope that Call can translate this to fuel his next project.

6. Hiss Golden Messenger, Heart Like a Levee  (Merge, 10/7)  You want an artist to go places, to evolve and to change.  MC Taylor's journey as HGM has followed him from a quiet, introspective folkie to today's soulful bandleader.  While Levee began as a vehicle to tell stories about others, Taylor followed his muse back home for these reflections on obligation and distance.  I would argue that the companion "bonus" disc that accompanies deluxe editions of the album is almost as revealing and rewarding as the original, even as it allows the artist to turn inward once again.

7. Justin Peter Kinkel-Schuster, Constant Stranger  (Big Legal Mess, 9/30)  The most effective solo projects are those that allow an artist to stretch in new ways, to explore sounds and directions not available to the group.  JPKS parses Water Liars' fuzzy noise for a sparse and focused acoustic collection that exceeds even the expectations of a big fan.  The folks at OurVinyl have released a 3 song single that features the artist and his guitar alongside a lake.  Burbling brook aside, it's a bit redundant, since there's not a more lovely, more quiet, more intense record out this year.

8. Richmond Fontaine, You Can't Go Back ...  (El Cortez, 3/18)  And it's true, you can't go back to the early days of Winnemucca or the classic Post to Wire.  But if Willy Vlautin & co. are calling it quits with one last volley, it might as well be a record like this.  "Tapped Out In Tulsa" and "Wake Up Ray" are the quintessential wedding of the band's early alt.country and Vlautin's more recent departure into narration.

9. Mount Moriah, How To Dance  (Merge, 2/26)  I haven't seen Mount Moriah's third album on too many year end lists to date.  I have found Heather McEntire's songs inescapable since the record's February release, whether the heavy guitar of "Cardinal Cross" or the elegiac strains of "Baby Blue", another of my favorites for the year.  The trio strikes a rewarding balance between tuneful country and lush indie folk.

10. Austin Lucas, Between the Moon and the Midwest  (Last Chance, 5/27)  Always an admired singer and songwriter, Lucas forged new territory on this superb collection.  It's at once his Metamodern Sounds and his Tulsa Heat, a CD that is bigger than anything else he's done while remaining well rooted in story.  Plus, it's bolstered by some notable contributions by Cory Branan, Lydia Loveless and John Moreland himself, who plays a supporting role on the spirited "Ain't We Free".  In the end, it's the more traditional, pared back "Pray For Rain" that serves to remind us that it's Lucas' angelic voice that's carried us this far.

11. Sturgill Simpson, Sailor's Guide to Earth  (Atlantic, 4/15)  Am I wrong to keep Simpson from my top ten when so many others gave him top billing?  I loved the record as much as any of these others, with its ambitious arrangements and unexpected evolutions.  Strings bleed into Stax soul horns.  We're as likely to hear variations on country as we are to catch psychedelic rock or skronky sax.  It's a fractured puzzle of an album, less song oriented than Metamodern Sounds, but one that satisfies with its surprises.  Perhaps it's telling that my favorite song from Sailor's Guide was Simpson's sweet and syruped take on Nirvana's "In Bloom".

12. BJ Barham, Rockingham  (BJB, 8/19)  Composed both of new songs and American Aquarium tunes reinterpreted, Rockingham is the year's best portrait of small town blue collar America.  Appropriately, I enjoyed this while driving across the vast and open states of the Western US, pulling into small towns and judging them by their cafes and their political signs.  Primarily an acoustic affair, it's a glimpse into a Barham not often seen through the heavier noise of his day band.

13. Caleb Caudle, Carolina Ghost  (This is American Music, 2/26)  Carolina Ghost is the sound of taste and restraint, soul and grace and genuine goodness.  Nearly every song has worn a gentle and patient path into my musical soul, becoming smooth and familiar with time.  The pedal steel is parceled just perfectly, and no other instrument tries to hard to make an impression.  And Caudle simply writes an indelible song.

14. Justin Wells, Dawn in the Distance  (August, 8/5)  So what's the difference between the perfectly good country rock of Kentucky's Fifth on the Floor and the superb debut record from former member Justin Wells?  Perhaps it's simply that Dawn is the sound of one man, one artist exploring his vision.  While the group could push the pedal as a way of proving their mettle, Wells simply writes a great song.  It's got more soul than Fifth, and seems a more genuine statement, from the midtempo rock of "Going Down Grinnin'" to the runner up for my favorite song of the year, "The Dogs".

15. Kent Eugene Goolsby, Temper of the Times  (KEG, 11/11)  True confessions: I actually went and double checked that Kent Eugene Goolsby is the same person as the Kent Goolsby whose fine music I've followed for a couple records.  Turns out that it's just been a really good year for the writer, taking great strides in writing and adding a nice handful of grit to his new work.  There's some unexpectedly deep soul diving on "Loveless Prayers" and "Great Confessor", songs that find Goolsby examining his own ways and taking the temperature of our country.

16. Freakwater, Scheherazade  (Bloodshot, 2/5)  God bless Freakwater.  Bless the broken and beautiful voices of Janet Bean and Catherin Irwin, the haunted and creaking trad folk that sounds like everything and nothing we've heard before. When even the best stuff on this list admittedly sounds like other stuff, nothing sounds like Freakwater.  Just the thing we need after close to ten years of quiet.

17. Brent Cobb, Shine On Rainy Day  (Elektra, 10/7)  Yet another Nashville songwriting machine who has held back some of the better stuff for himself.  Such a smooth and soulful effort, Cobb is able to recall 70s a.m. country rock without losing his current vibe or his relevance.  Moments like "South of Atlanta" and "Country Bound" bring Isbell to mind, while the title cut and "Black Crow" don't fall far from early Tony Joe White or JJ Cale at his most engaged.

18. Honeycutters, On the Ropes  (Organic, 5/20)  Just part of my perennial campaign to assure that Amanda Anne Platt gets her due as a great artist.  Lori McKenna is garnering a wheelbarrowfull of accolades for her excellent '16 release.  I would argue that Platt rivals McKenna for her steady stare at the hard times, while pairing her unflinching lyrics with more engaging, more eclectic arrangements.

19. Jayhawks, Paging Mr Proust  (Sham, 4/29)  Granted, Gary Louris & co. have never revisited the rarified air of Hollywood Town Hall and Tomorrow the Green Grass.  But they've also never floated a hollow, soulless effort.  On "Dust of Long Dead Stars" and the pop perfect "Quiet Corners & Empty Spaces" the classic Louris - Perlman - O'Reagan - Grotberg lineup deliver what we've come to expect and to appreciate from a band in its longtime pocket.  While Mark Olson paid a fleeting visit for '11's folky Mockingbird Time, Proust reminds us that the Jayhawks remain more than the product of their shuffling parts.

20. Left Arm Tan, Lorene  (LAT, 4/1)  By all means, LAT should be americana allstars.  Heck, with the right publicity they could cross over into mainstream country and red dirt audiences.  For now, their tuneful brand of roots rock has earned a home on R&B with good humor and heartfelt lyrics on tunes like "Blacktop Blues" and "Break Even".  A generous 18 tracks of the good stuff!

21. Two Cow Garage, Brand New Flag  (Last Chance, 10/14)  In some ways, the arc of 2CG's career has mirrored the realization of Micah Schnabel's unique songwriting gift.  Part alt.country, part punk and part beat poet, he's a throwback to a time when artists and listeners forged a strong bond over lyrics that are deeply personal while at the same time seeming to speak directly to the ostracized masses.  Try the title cut or "Let the Boys Be Girls" for a draught of this liquid courage.

22. Matt Haeck, Late Bloomer  (Blaster, 6/3)  Another name that was pretty much off my radar until 2016.  Matter of fact,  Haeck took the slow lane to his first record, a road that led through seminary, career dead ends and personal demons.  End of metaphor.  That's apparently given him more time to hone his songwriting skills on "Tennessee" and the lovely "Cotton Dress" with Caitlin Rose.  The understated "Lucky Cigarette" landed on my list of favorite songs for the year.

23. Shovels & Rope, Little Seeds  (New West, 10/7)  I love that Cary Ann Hearst and Michael Trent continue to make lots of noise, even as they settle into their well earned spot as one of the foremost americana acts of the day.  There's nothing safe to songs like "I Know" or the abrasive "Buffalo Nickel", and quieter bits like "St Anne's Parade" and "This Ride" can be revelatory.  No duo makes more beautiful noise, and no two voices blend so recklessly.

24. Becky Warren, War Surplus  (Warren, 10/14)  Onetime frontman for the Great Unknowns steps out on her own to tell the story of an armed services survivor returning to a world that no longer makes sense.  It's one of the real welcome surprises of the year, a relative unknown who emerges as a fully formed writer who can do sassy, heartfelt and pissed as well as any bigger name.

25. Lucinda Williams, Ghosts of Hwy 20  (Hwy 20, 2/5)  As you pick your way thru the above list, you might notice how many familiar names from the americana genre are conspicuously absent:  Hayes Carll, Buddy Miller, Steve Earle, John Prine all released pretty good new stuf in 2016.  Lucinda stands as one of the Old Guard who continues to make music that matters.  "Dust" aches, "Can't Close the Door On Love" breaks hearts, and "Place In My Heart" is just plain sweet.  It's sparse, intimate and quietly, confidently brilliant.

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No playlist this week, as this is stuff that I've shared many times during the year.  Still exploring the legal requirements of podcasting, since I really want to do it right (and don't want to spend the money on licensing if I can avoid it).  Nevertheless, I did invest in a shiny new mic this week, so ...

Here's to a Routes-worthy 2017!  Many Thanks for following me this far!

ROUTES & BRANCHES  
a home for the americana diaspora
December 17, 2016
Scott Foley, purveyor of dust

With my short musical attention span, I'm like an annoying spoiled kid at Christmas.  I'm never satisfied with what I have.  I'm always looking for the next wrapped present under the tree.  While I seek treatment, let's take a look at some of the Bigger Things on the horizon for Our Kind of Music:

~ Ryan Adams, Prisoner:  2015's remake of Taylor Swift's 1989 might've provided a convenient reboot for Adams' career (if he needed one).  "Do You Still Love Me", the anthemic first single, offers some fine Bon Jovi-esque guitar powered pop, heavier than most of his self titled 2014 record or '11's restrained Ashes & Fire. Adams' new stuff was generated in the wake of his high profile divorce, and was pulled together with some help from uber-producer Don Was, as well as a brand new band.  I fully recognize that I'm a complete apologist for this guy, even as I cringe along with every interview he gives.  And while we wait for his next Heartbreaker or even a reheated Cold Roses, I'll probably accept whatever we get.  Check out this recent piece at NME, which also features a curious "interview" with YouTube sensation Lil' Bub ...  (PaxAm, Feb 17)

~ Son Volt, Notes of Blue:  Where 2013's Honky Tonk was said to be inspired by the Bakersfield sound, Jay Farrar's follow-up reportedly looks to the Delta blues for a spark.  Fact is, "Back Against the Wall" sounds like classic Farrar, and  "Lost Souls" is a touch more garage-y than we're used to from the deliberate artist.  But I'm not hearing Mississippi. To be fair, Farrar has acknowledged that the new songs are simply "inspired by the spirit".  The band has posted snippets of the album on their facebook page, a couple of which do actually favor more traditional blues chord progressions - see, f'rinstance, "Cherokee St".   The loud 'n messy guitar on both fully available tracks is a nice sign of life, and the brief "Souls" is harder and heavier than anything we've heard from Son Volt in years.  This quick piece from Garden & Gun finds Farrar mentioning a possible reissue treatment for some Uncle Tupelo as well.  In all honesty, it wouldn't be too hard at this point to pull the old band back together, would it?  (Transmit Sound, Feb 17)

~ Hurray for the Riff Raff, The Navigator:  I've been expecting some kind of reshuffling of sounds following the success of 2014's New Orleans-inspired Small Town Heroes.  Our first glimpse, "Rican Beach" is reportedly dedicated to the protesters at Standing Rock, and features Latin percussion and a fuller production. Writer Alynda Lee Segarra has never especially shied away from speaking her mind about social justice issues.  Per Segarra, "The Navigator is you trying to make your way through a society that says you are too brown, too female, too queer, or too smart for your own good".  That said, here's hoping the new tracks steer clear enough of any overly heavy handed proselytizing. It's reportedly a concept record of sorts, which is always good news ...  You can take my life / But don't take my home / Baby it's a solid price / It comes with my bones.  (ATO, Mar 10)

~ Band of Heathens, Duende:  2013's Sunday Morning Record was a highwater mark in my appreciation of BoH.  It marked a tighter, more song-centric strategy as well as a pared down lineup.  "All I'm Asking" and "Trouble Came Early" cruise on a midtempo country-rock vibe that might recall an updated take on late period Eagles.  The guitars are chunky and there is promise of a good time with a chance of chooglin'.  "(W)e realized that at heart we're a roots rock band that loves to rock n roll".  Another jam, "Sugar Queen":  She even talks dirty when she's down on her knees to pray ... If you like a quality EPK, check out the band's good spirited piece on their YouTube channel (promise that Lil' Bub is nowhere to be seen).  (BoH, Jan 13)

~ Tift Merritt, Stitch of the World:  Of all these Bigger Things, I'm perhaps most heartened by the first couple songs from Merritt's first collection since 2012 (not counting a curious collab with classical pianist Simone Dinnerstein).   Fresh from some work and some touring with Andrew Bird and with Hiss Golden Messenger, Stitch boasts both the bluesy and rambling "Dusty Old Man" and the gorgeous and timely "Love Soldiers On".  Looks like Iron & Wine's Sam Beam also gets some credits here.  I'm a great fan of Merritt's underrated early stuff:  Her EP with Two Dollar Pistols, Bramble Rose and 2004's soulful Tambourine. Here's hopin' ... (Yep Roc, Jan 27)

~ Nikki Lane, Highway Queen:  The title track to Lane's 2014 starmaking All or Nothin' is a sure thing stomper that straddles the wide divide between trad and contemporary.  A classic country story is propelled by a synthy pulse; Lane's Tanya Tucker drawl is applied to the kind of rural roots rap that the mainstream country kids like these days.  There's also the real promise of a song called "700,000 Rednecks".  It's all coproduced by beau Jonathan Tyler, following in the wake of Dan Auerbach and Dave Cobb who took the helm for her first couple records.   Despite a seemingly deep independent streak Lane boasts, You can tie her down / You can bottle lightning / But the highway queen don't need no king.  It's my bold prediction that Highway Queen will be the most celebrated of these Bigger Things in the latter days of 2017.  (New West, Feb 17)

~ Old 97s, Graveyard Whistling:  One thing these acts all have in common is that I'm immediately receptive to anything new from them.  2014's Most Messed Up was a ballsy, occasionally profane blast of electricity long absent from the 97s' repertoire.  Anybody who claims they expected adult contemporary swallow Brandi Carlile to make an appearance is lying to us.  Anybody who tells you that "Good With God" isn't an entertaining strumfest probably shouldn't be your friend.  Where do the busted angels go ... I can only hope that I'm good with god / I wonder how she feels about me.  (ATO, Feb 24)

I could go on.  I could also include bits on 2017 stuff from lesser figures like Michael Chapman, Chuck Prophet, Sadies, Scott H Biram and people called Leif Vollebekk and Mark Porkchop Holder (my father told me to always trust a man named after a fatty meat).  But here's hoping that the above will be enough to keep your motor runnin' during the cold and unforgiving months of Winter.

My tentative resolution for 2017 is to make something more of this sorry little space on the nets.  Dunno if that means podcasting, increased original content or just setting the damn thing on fire and selling the ashes.  For today, it's a rock in my shoe, a sharp poke I can't ignore.  Please won't you share my poke with friends and family during this holiday season.

Next week:  My favorite records of 2016!  Pretty sure ...

Look what I did:

ROUTES & BRANCHES  

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

December 10, 2016

Scott Foley, purveyor of dust

This week, we inch ever closer to Christmas.  Not 100% (yet), but I was hoping to provide enough here at least to stir your ho ho ho.  For those in denial, there's non-holiday cheer from Hurray for the Riff Raff, Black Joe Lewis, from Charlie Parr and Ryan Adams and more.  So much New Stuff on the horizon that I'm not able to shoehorn in my typical jingle shit.  But snow falls here in sunny CO, and there is wassail on the air.

And there's even Miranda Lambert.  Yes.  I find it curious how as americana programmers we turn a blind eye towards whatever is embraced by the country mainstream.  Granted, sometimes that's merited.  When, for instance, the music is Not Good.  There's enough of that going around, for sure, but good music is good music.  And Miranda's 6th record, Weight of These Wings, is good stuff.

It's been called her breakup album, landing in the wake of her split with that guy from The Voice.  But let's be honest, name me one album that's not about love, loss and resentment.  Lambert unnecessarily names the two discs that compose Weight "The Nerve" and "The Heart".  And whereas most double record sets are padded with generous filler, there's not a lot of that among these 24 tunes.

Most importantly, as a standard bearer for The Mainstream, Lambert makes very few nods to current country trends.  I'll throw just 3 songs in this basket, including the sorta faux off-the-cuff goofiness that is "Pink Sunglasses".  Otherwise, it seems at least one curious touchstone for Weight is Emmylou's 1995 collab with Daniel Lanois, Wrecking Ball.  Producer Frank Liddell pads much of the noise here with thick drums, guitar and reverb like I like.  "Ugly Lights" cruises atop thick bluesy molasses, replete with a nice early rock guitar solo.  I still go and stay too late / And be the girl bartenders hate / The one that doesn't need another one ...  One of the collection's stronger cuts, "Runnin' Just In Case" takes its time building on a deep electric pulse, atmospheric and haunted with distant backing vox.

Lambert leaves her stamp on nearly every one of these cowrites, sharing a byline with names like Foy Vance, Ashley Monroe, Jack Ingram, Brent Cobb, Mando Saenz and current beau Anderson East.  It's safe to say that her imprimatur is a tough swagger and a sassiness (not a word I believe I've ever used here), sparked by an almost punkish girl power that ignites even the most vulnerable tracks.  A collaboration with East, "Pushin' Time" is a barebones acoustic reflection addressing a reluctance to leap back into the relationship fray:  Sometimes love acts out of spite / And good things happen over night / Can't take it slow 'cuz you and I / Are pushin' time.

New songs like "Covered Wagon", "Six Degrees of Separation" or "Bad Boy" may garner the radio spins, but my investment on Weight of These Wings is with more unexpected pieces like gorgeous ballad "To Learn Her".  A truly classic vocal, a Hargus "Pig" Robbins piano solo, and some perfect pedal steel pulled down from the trad country attic combine to reveal Lambert's roots as a dedicated "Keeper of the Flame".

"I've Got Wheels" is another moment that echoes some of Emmylou Harris' 90s work, even if Miranda Lambert is a much different vocalist.  It's also another cut that embraces the pervasive theme of travel and escape.  Always on the move, she recognizes both the liberation and the letdown that come from living out of a perennially packed suitcase.  "Nobody ever taught me how to stay," she explains on one track.  Sure, the restless life takes its toll on relationships, but it'll doubtlessly provide the artist with another massive bestseller at year's end.  And she's not really apologizing for her choices, because sometimes the road provides a good excuse for avoiding commitment.  As Lambert explains on "Runnin' Just in Case":  Happiness ain't prison / But there's freedom in a broken heart.  Trust me and give Weight of These Wings a try.

- matt pond PA, "In Winter" Winter Lives  (131 Records, 16)
- Drag the River, "Fleeting Porch of Tide" You Can't Leave This Way  (Xtra Mile, 08)  C
- Gillian Welch, "455 Rocket (Outtake)" Boots No. 1  (Acony, 16)
- Becky Warren, "Dive Bar Sweetheart" War Surplus  (Warren, 16)
- Ryan Adams, "Do You Still Love Me" Prisoner  (PaxAm, 17)  D
- Kelly Pardekooper, "You Don't Say" City At Night  (Pardekooper, 16)  D
- X, "In This House That I Call Home (live)" Live at the Whisky a Go-Go  (Elektra, 88)
- American Aquarium, "Lonely Ain't Easy (live)" Live at Terminal West  (AA, 16)
- Trampled by Turtles, "Christmas In Prison" Acoustic Christmas  (Amazon, 16)
- Mount Moriah, "Baby Blue (Garage Demo)" Calvander - single  (Merge, 15)
- Charlie Parr, "I Ain't Dead Yet" I Ain't Dead Yet  (Red House, 16)  D
- Michael Chapman, "Sometimes You Just Drive" 50  (Paradise of Bachelors, 17)
- Luke Roberts, "Untitled Blues" Sunlit Cross  (Thrill Jockey, 16)
- Derailers, "Jingle Bells" Connect Set - EP  (Palo Duro, 06)
- Dead Man Winter, "Destroyer" Furnace  (GNDWire, 17)  D
- Band of Heathens, "All I'm Asking" Duende  (BoH, 17)
- Hurray for the Riff Raff, "Rican Beach" The Navigator  (ATO, 17)  D
- Son Volt, "Back Against the Wall" Notes of Blue  (Transmit Sound, 17)  D
^ Miranda Lambert, "Runnin' Just in Case" Weight of These Wings  (Vanner, 16)  D
- Mavericks, "Tonight the Bottle Let Me Down (live)" Best of Sessions at West 54th  (Sony, 01)
- Mark Porkchop Holder, "My Black Name" Let It Slide  (Alive Naturalsound, 17)  D
- Black Joe Lewis & Honeybears, "PTP" Backlash  (BJL, 17)  D
- Sallie Ford, "Get Out" Soul Sick  (Vanguard, 17)  D
- Kelly Hogan & Pine Valley Cosmonauts, "Papa Was a Rodeo" Beneath the Country Underdog  (Bloodshot, 00)
- Paul Thorn, "Rose City" Best of Paul Thorn  (Perpetual Obscurity, 16)  D

ROUTES & BRANCHES

a home for the american diaspora

November 26, 2016

Scott Foley, purveyor of dust

I can't say why it seems to be more difficult for me to write about my favorite songs than about my favorite records for the year.  The last couple years I've sorta sidestepped songs in place of albums.  What with my extra time as 2016 shudders to a standstill, I seem to have collected a list of 25 quality cuts for your listening pleasure.  I believe I'll even order them for you.

FAVORITE SONGS of 2016

1. "Hands of Time" by Margo Price, from Midwest Farmer's Daughter (Third Man, March 25) -- I'll quote myself here, from way back in the halcyon days of March: "Prediction: At year's end Price's "Hurtin' (On the Bottle)" will sit at or near the top of dozens of favorites lists. For me, this album opener is the collection's true gem ... A vocal delivery for the ages, an arrangement that bundles countrypolitan, honky tonk and contemporary "cosmic country" into an origin story worthy of Loretta, Hag, Tanya or Sturgill.  All I wanna do / Is make a little cash / Cause I've worked all the bad jobs / Busted my ass. / I wanna buy back the farm / And bring my mama home some wine / Turn back the clock on the cruel hands of time."  After a nearly Stapleton-esque year, I'm guessing Mama should be able to afford some of the real good stuff.    

2. "The Dogs" by Justin Wells, from Dawn in the Distance  (August, August 5)  -- Wells' service with Fifth on the Floor only hinted at his fierce energy and deep talent.  "The Dogs" is one of the most unromantic road songs I've heard, painting such a bleak picture of a band's neverending tour that it might persuade young alt.country types to put down their guitar and get a job pulling espresso.  It's a nasty way of living sometime / My jar ain't holding a single dime / My glass is holding the last thing I want to do. / I'm gonna drink every dime I make tonight / I'll die just to get a room ...

3. "Baby Blue" by Mount Moriah, from How to Dance  (Merge, February 25)  --  Such an evocative sound conjured by electric guitar, droning organ and the yearning delivery of vocalist Heather McEntire.  It's a sound that both embraces and keeps its enigmatic lyrical distance.  I've woken up countless times this year with the refrain echoing in my head, Are you gonna let me win.  For a bonus treat, track down last October's "Calvander" single which also features a more raw "garage demo" of "Baby Blue".  Plus, it's the best video I've seen this year that features a guy peeing on a couch.

4. "Heartbeat Smile" by Alejandro Escovedo, from Burn Something Beautiful  (Fantasy, October 28)  --  I'm sure I'll have time to rhapsodize about Escovedo's new record when I reveal my favorite albums of 2016.  This first single rivals 2008's "Always a Friend" for pure pop shock 'n awe.  From the "Bad Case of Loving You" guitar riff to the bubblegum girl group backing vox, it's a real highwater mark on a collection characterized by reminiscence, regret, absence and sharp guitars.  Escovedo is nothing short of a national treasure.

5. "Give All You Can" by Cody Jinks, from I'm Not the Devil  (Jinks, August 12)  --  There are more upbeat songs on Jinks' 2016 record, and better singalongs, but this one might be the songwriter's most deeply introspective.  Singing about The dark places I go, and admitting, I got a bad tortured soul, in the end it's an uplifting country ballad that challenges the listener to push past that dark night.  With its barroom piano and soul stirring choral spirit, "Give All You Can" is the year's best Saturday night / Sunday morning moment.

6. "Ain't We Free" by Austin Lucas, from Between the Moon and the Midwest  (Last Chance, May 27)  --  I flitted between the ballad "Pray for Rain" and the opener, "Unbroken Hearts" before landing on this youthful romp as my representative from Lucas' stellar collection.  With some help from John Moreland, the song blasts a chorus that demands to be belted from car windows (trust me):  Ain't we free / Ain't we terrible and young / Just like the spark in the east / Turns into the sun.  A great guitar break and a hellbent tempo simply drive the spirit of abandon to 10 and beyond.  Even if you're more terrible than young ...

7. "Longer" by Lydia Loveless, from Real  (Bloodshot, August 19)  --  Is Lydia too mature to be playing guitar and eating cheesepuffs in her bedroom dressed only in her unmentionables?  Or is that part of her indelible charm?  On a record that continues to rage against expectations, "Longer" is a quintessential song of pining for love lost.  It's also an earworm with a remarkable growth rate, from the artist's telling drawl to guitars and keys that speak more to 90s pop than to contemporary roots.

8. "Wild Flower" by the Vandoliers, from Ameri-kinda  (State Fair, October 21)  --  Don't tell me that the Vandoliers is a good name for a band, or that Ameri-kinda strikes you as a particularly smart choice for a record title.  But I dare you to listen to the Dallas ensemble's debut without being charmed.  "Wild Flower" was my first delicious taste of their punk vocals, mariachi horns and jagged romantic streak.  One of the year's latest victories, it's one gorgeously sloppy piece of work that continues to delight.

9. "Can't Close the Door On Love" by Lucinda Williams, from Ghosts of Highway 20  (Hwy 20, February 5)  --  An uncharacteristically gentle, earnest ballad from an artist who's more at  home in the bluesy dumps.  With her lazy slur, Lucinda's vocal is simply sweet melancholy.  It's an understated gem that's stuck with me:  You're just a little rough around the edges / Tough as nail, made of stone / But that's exactly what I expected / 'Cause baby, you're one piece of work.  It's a bouquet, with some of the weeds still hangin' on like I like.

10. "Piedmont Sky" by Caleb Caudle, from Carolina Ghost  (This Is American Music, February 26)  --  Another album from which I could've tagged a number of cuts.  Caudle and co. generate an effortless sound, shot through with 70s country and soul.  Like much on Carolina Ghost, it's deceptively, masterfully simple from the lyric to the subtle arrangement and the repeated catch, A decade of hot and heavenly summers / Waitin' for an angel to call my number.

11. "Brake Dust" by Justin Peter Kinkel-Schuster, from Constant Stranger  (Big Legal Mess, September 30)  --  So hushed and understated, you almost feel like an eavesdropper on this most intimate of JPKS's pieces.  Sunday morning / Chokin' on brake dust / Feelin' me rust / How will I know / When I am broken and I've had enough / Just take your sins and make them feel like love.  Nothing beyond a chiming piano and fingerpicked guitar, but the hymnlike tune resonates.

12. "Wake Up Ray" by Richmond Fontaine, from You Can't Go Back if There's Nothing to Go Back To  (El Cortez, March 18)  --  From the Portland band's apparent swansong, it's one of at least 4 songs on this list that are at least tangentially about birds.  "Wake Up Ray" is the sort of slice of real life scenario in which writer Willy Vlautin is a master.  It's just a story about a guy who buys his girlfriend a finch that she releases into the snow.  Nobody sounds like Richmond Fontaine, and this short vignette epitomizes the record's genius.  All I remember now is running through the snow / Looking for Little Joe.

13. "Finches" by Arliss Nancy, from Greater Divides  (Gunner, May 13)  --  Yeah, birds.  Sorta.  The Fort Collins alt.country force fits no fewer than 3 distinct movements in this brief 3 minute cut.  It's like a short, rootsy "November Rain" ...  In all honesty, "Finches" is another slice of life song, sneaking a glimpse into a relationship that's begun to fray at the edges.  And maybe we can meet them at the Hi-Dive around seven or eight; a beer and some whiskey for the shaking in your leg.  And if you ever get to thinking about home, that's when you'll see it's been here all along.

14. "Filthy and Fried" by Drive-by Truckers, from American Band  (ATO, September 30)  --  I'm tempted to call American Band the perfect album for its time.  That said, amidst all the collection's sociopolitical commentary, my favorite song is simply about how the ladies can be driven by the basest of desires just like us guys.  Not one of the songs that'll generate much dinner table debate ...  But sometimes all you want to hear is good 'n dirty alt.country with lots of drippy meat on the bones.  Bottles falling in a dumpster / And a stale smell rising through a sickening summer haze  / To the rhythm of a boot-heeled hipster cowgirl's clunky sashay of shame.  End of argument.

15. "American Tobacco Company" by BJ Barham, from Rockingham  (BJB, August 19)  --  With this week's release of their new live record, it's been a good year for BJ Barham's day band, American Aquarium.  A really fine, steady rocking stage act, their frontman's debut solo album pared back the proceedings for a personal reflection on small town, blue collar reality.  No tune spoke louder to me than this story of the dead end drudgery of a factory job.  Now I sit here on the line / And watch these big machines crush my hopes and dreams / Into Pall Malls and Lucky Strikes.

16. "Loveless Prayers" by Kent Eugene Goolsby, from Temper of the Times  (KEG, November 11)
17. "Biloxi" by Hiss Golden Messenger, from Heart Like a Levee  (Merge, October 7)
18. "How Quickly Your Heart Mends" by Courtney Marie Andrews, from Honest Life  (Mama Bird, August 19)
19. "Bob Dylan's 78th Hangover" by Harvest Thieves, from Rival  (Harvest Thieves, January 8)
20. "Blacktop Blues" by Left Arm Tan, from Lorene  (LAT, April 16)
21. "Solving Problems" by Brent Cobb, from Shine On Rainy Day  (Elektra, October 7)
22. "Quiet Corners & Empty Spaces" by Jayhawks, from Paging Mr. Proust  (Sham, April 29)
23. "Opening Statement" by Hard Working Americans, from Rest in Chaos  (Melvin, May 13)
24. "Rock 'n Roll" by Girls Guns & Glory, from Love & Protest  (GGG, November 4)
25. "Lucky Cigarette" by Matt Haeck, from Late Bloomer  (Blaster, June 3)

We'll get our favorite records for the year on these pages in the next couple weeks, crisply appointed and ready for your cruel derision.  At present, they're arrayed alphabetically, but I'm starting to get a good sense of what belongs where with regards to personal preference.  While you can not presently enjoy these lists on your terrestrial radio, you can stream them merrily below.