ROUTES & BRANCHES
featuring the very best of americana, alt.country and roots music
March 31, 2021
Scott Foley, purveyor of dust
It's one of our guiding principles here at R&B HQ: Change Is Good. We roll out the welcome mat, extend a hearty invite, slaughter the fatted calf for artists who try something new. Call it a symptom of our musical short attention span, but we have little patience for the one trick pony who releases the same stuff year after year. Win or lose, we give extra points for folks who take a chance.
Of course, this means we have to have permeable boundaries on our beloved genres. There needs to be a free flow of creativity between americana, alt.country and roots music. And pop. And punk, rock, gospel, what-have-you. The worst thing we can do as critics and listeners is to draw solid lines to hem in those who trade in our kind of music. We risk creating a self-parodying genre that's increasingly irrelevant and out of touch with the current state of recorded music.
As listeners, we can like what we like. We can spin what makes our heart beat. It's all subjective. But at R&B we're driven by the spirit of musical discovery, we exist for what's just around the corner. If we play something that doesn't work for you, or if we leave you behind, that's fine. Please enjoy yourself. In the meantime, we'll be moving forward with Morgan Wade.
Reckless, Morgan Wade's debut full-length arrives on a wave of high expectations, anticipation spurred on by four acoustic singles released last Spring from an OurVinyl Session. Other than introducing an excellent young songwriter to a national audience, those recordings did relatively little to prepare listeners for her first solo studio collection. Produced by Sadler Vaden, Reckless places that artist and her songs in a contemporary pop and rock setting, The acoustic strumming that supported her earlier songs is replaced by a full studio band and effects, production and arrangement that loses little of what matters in Wade's music: Those Songs and That Voice.
Wade and Vaden aren't reinventing any wheel here. They're not exploring any territory that hasn't already been marked by a growing generation of country artists who have chosen to avail themselves of studio technology and resources, tools that can be used in service of a more current, relevant sound. "Wilder Days" leaps from the first electric guitar notes, Wade's pure country vocal in a fierce power pop arena. One of the year's strongest singles, it strikes with an immediate appeal as relevant as Maren Morris or Bebe Rexha. Most importantly, it sacrifices nothing of Morgan Wade's sharp lyrical prowess or her inescapable roots delivery: Who were you before I knew your name / Were you drunk at midnight waiting for the train. The song's an absolute tiger.
These are Wade's songs, with cowriting credits given to Sadler Vaden and coproducer and engineer Paul Ebersold, both of whom contribute extensively to the rich and evocative musical bed. Like Vaden's own extracurricular solo jaunts outside of Jason Isbell's 400 Unit (members of which also contribute here), Reckless colors well outside the safety of typical americana and country lines. "Last Cigarette" earns its keep with a galloping bassline and a soaring backing vocal: Wanna wake up with you on my breath / I want you one last time / Another hit to ease my mind. The title track crossbreeds a country lyrical flow with a blazing Mtv-worthy guitar solo. Even as her sessions are supported by these modern trappings, Morgan Wade's singing is beautiful, especially on her ballads, delivered with a old school twang that reminds listeners of her Floyd, Virginia roots.
There is an intimacy in Wade's earlier singles and her videos with her backing band The Stepbrothers, as well as a rough edge that might be dulled at the hands of a less skilled producer. Lyrically, these songs deal with addiction and loss, need and longing, qualities that can't be effectively communicated without emotional vulnerability. But she wears that rawness on her tattooed sleeve on pieces like the exquisitely heartbreaking "Met You". The acoustic ballad glimmers with strings and synth touches: We're dancing in the kitchen / Drunk off some shitty wine. Much of the collection was written as Wade struggled to right her world in the aftermath of addiction, a fact that gives extra meaning to the heartbreak themes that are scattered throughout songs like "Mend". For all the inner strength and resolve required for recovery, these songs also portray the narrator looking to others for meaning and connection: No words spoken, I'm so broken / I hope you can mend me.
But, as Morgan Wade assures listeners on her most soul searching tune, "Don't Cry": It's okay to not be alright. She speaks of giving rein to her alter ego and finding the reward in the risk, finally surrendering: Lose yourself and break your heart / It's a beautiful thing to fall apart.
In collaboration with Sadler Vaden, Morgan Wade finds the truest expression of her artistry as a rock artist with roots tendencies. Like Kacey Musgraves she's stared down expectations and pursued her own muse. Like Lydia Loveless, Wade can acknowledge that she is flawed and can incorporate those rough edges into her songcraft. Perhaps like Ashley McBryde a certain fraction of the country crowd will embrace her as a truly gifted songwriter. In the end, if country can't find room for near rough gems like "Take Me Away" or "Other Side", that's their damn loss.
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This week's newcomers to A Routes & Branches Guide To Feeding Your Monster include American Grenadine from an act named The Rose Petals. The Los Angeles outfit features songwriters Peter Donovan and Elijah Ocean. Their debut lands on April 23 (Envoy). Angel Olsen's All Mirrors and Whole New Mess were two sides of the musical coin. On May 7, Jagjaguwar will share Song of the Lark and Other Far Memories, a box set featuring outtakes, covers and alternate takes from those sessions. From the Mojave Desert, Starlight Cleaning Co. will be releasing their debut CD on May 21. From Sofaburn Records, the project includes some of the late Neal Casal's final guitar work. Ryan Boldt and Deep Dark Woods return with their sixth collection. Changing Faces can be expected wherever music matters on May 14 via Six Shooter Records. Finally, veteran Tennessee songwriter Sean McConnell has plans for his fourteenth release (!). A Horrible Beautiful Dream is slotted for an August 6 debut.
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