featuring the very best of americana, alt.country and roots music
April 14, 2024
Scott Foley, purveyor of dust
Exactly a month ago, Kacey Musgraves released Deeper Well, her fifth album following on the heels of 2021's star crossed. It's not our thing to spend digital ink telling folks what to avoid. Nevertheless, we didn't love that new collection, and didn't represent it too deeply in our Spotify ROUTES-casts. We found Deeper Well a bit shallow, the songs hollow and at times indulgent. It's by no means a terrible record, but we're still waiting for the appropriate follow-up to Golden Hour.
Katie Pruitt isn't Kacey Musgraves. More grounded and prone to greater introspection, her superb 2019 debut addressed issues of identity and expectations, coming of age as a queer woman in the conservative South. Pruitt's new project, Mantras is the record Musgraves should have made. Pruitt wrote of Expectations' title cut: There is wisdom in not knowing, there is freedom in spontaneity and there is courage in letting go. Sometimes you just need to climb a mountain, smoke some pot, laugh with your friends, and while you're at it, stop giving so many fucks what people think.
Mantras begins with a growl and a bang, electric guitars dialed to fuzz on a song that establishes one of the pervasive themes of the collection. "All My Friends" addresses a generation's search for meaning: A new mantra every other week. Pruitt's vocal paints with strong tones, already among the more powerful singers in our kind of music. With a solid pop hook and just enough country, this one actually does sound like the best Kacey Musgraves song that Kacey never recorded. "White Lies, White Jesus and You" slides from a woozy piano to a beat, with bursts of Steve Stevens guitar. Pruitt doesn't blame folks for finding identity where they will: If you say that Jesus gives you peace of mind / That's a good enough reason for me / And if it really helps you get some sleep at night / I'd kill for a little of that peace.
While it's the emotion de jour for pop songwriters, Katie Pruitt seems to harbor no blame or to point no fault for her generation's short philosophical attention span. Most of Mantras finds the songwriter examining her own choices, especially as she recognizes dynamics that's she's carried forward from her childhood. She pages through a family scrapbook of emotions on "Blood Related": College debt and cigarettes / And all our shared mistakes. "Jealous Of the Boys" paints a picture of a girl experiencing the push-pull between her own identity and the expectations of those around her. Even these midtempo acoustic tracks deploy an electric undercurrent, the buzz of guitars or a digital swoosh beneath the organic strum. "Jealous" highlights Pruitt's ability as a storyteller: I would have a different body if only God gave me the choice.
Whereas she tagged a lesser known associate to produce her debut, Mantras features Collin Pastore and Jake Finch, most recently celebrated for their work with boygenius. While certain songs bear a country influence, the prevailing spirit leans towards indie folk, with full arrangements and contemporary production. "Self Sabotage" features airy guitars that whip into a stormy chorus, the singer recognizing that she may be her own worst enemy: Gaslit by my mirror ... I'm both villain and victim. On "Worst Case Scenario", Pruitt grants herself the title King of Disaster Prevention, set to the tune of an electric crunch and cracking drums. Mantras suggests a more radio-ready take than Expectations, with tunes showcasing not only Pruitt's vocal range, but the personality and nuance in her delivery as well.
Katie Pruitt cowrote only a couple songs on her new collection, with the majority boasting only her own name on the credits. As a writer, she leans towards Lori McKenna's domestic sociodrama, or Caroline Spence's projection of the personal into public spaces. Where Kacey Musgraves' new cowrites reach too far inward (or so far upwards) that they threated to disappear, Pruitt's craft anchors her introspection. She regards relationship missteps patiently, and operates from a place of forgiveness, even in light of her own shortcomings. Cowritten with Ruston Kelly, "Standstill" closes Mantras with a wistful acoustic number, with strings and warm fingers across frets. She sings, It's okay to stand still / You don't have to gain the world to say that you're fulfilled.
Between the return of Coachella and the fact that I mowed my lawn for the first time in 2024, the threat of Summer is certainly in the air. A Routes & Branches Guide To Feeding Your Monster has accordingly begun swelling with the promise of forthcoming music. Timothy Showalter has announced his next Strand Of Oaks project. Set June 7 as the date for Miracle Focus on Western Vinyl. The supergroup trio of Bonny Light Horseman seem to be more than a passing flirtation. Anais Mitchell, Eric D Johnson, and Josh Kaufman expect Keep Me On Your Mind/See You Free will be a double album, set for shelves on June 7 courtesy of Jagjaguwar. Felice Brothers' next record will appear via Conor Oberst's new label. Million Stars will release Valley Of Abandoned Songs on June 27. Boy Golden's next full-length was reportedly recorded to cassette tape. Six Shooter Records will share For Eden on July 19. Finally, 49 Winchester announce the follow-up to their 2022 breakthrough. Leavin' This Holler is expected on August 2, thanks to the New West label.
- Morgan Wade, "Time To Love Time To Kill" Obsessed (Ladylike, Aug 16) D
- 49 Winchester, "Yearnin' For You" Leavin' This Holler (New West, Aug 2) D
- Nicolette & the Nobodies, "Don't You Dare" Long Way (ArtHaus, 24)
- Wilder Blue, "I'm Your Man" single (Hill Country, 24) D
- Emily Nenni, "Amarillo Highway" Drive & Cry (New West, May 3)
- Will Hoge, "Deadbolt" Tenderhearted Boys (Edlo, 24)
- Kyle Kimbrell, "Punk Rock Girl" Easy Truths (Cornelius Chapel, 24)
- John Moreland, "Ain't Much I Can Do About It" Visitor (Old Omens, 24)
^ Katie Pruitt, "Standstill" Mantras (Rounder, 24)
- Sunny War, "Solitary Hero" My Black Country: Songs Of Alice Randall (Oh Boy, 24)
- Bridget Kearney, "Roman Sunset" Comeback Kid (Keeled Scales, 24)
- Loose Collars, "Chris" Loose Collars (Sentimental Noises, Apr 19)
- Arlo McKinley, "Place To Sleep" single (Oh Boy, 24) D
- Hour, "Most Gorgeous Day In History" Ease the Work (Dear Life, 24)
- Trummors, "Long July" 5 (Ernest Jenning, 24)
- Old 97s, "Magic" American Primitive (ATO, 24)
- Aaron West & Roaring Twenties, "I'm An Albatross" In Lieu Of Flowers (Hopeless, 24)
- Felice Brothers, "Crime Scene Queen" Valley Of Abandoned Songs (Million Stars, Jun 27) D
- Elliott BROOD, "C'mon Let's Go" Country (Six Shooter, 24)
- Matthew "Doc" Dunn, "Up On the Hillside" Imaginational Anthem XIII: Songs Of Bruce Cockburn (Tompkins Square, 24)
- James Elkington & Nathan Salsburg, "Death Wishes To Kill" All Gist (Paradise Of Bachelors, 24)
- Aaron Frazer, "Payback" Into the Blue (Dead Oceans, Jun 28) D
- Bonny Light Horseman, "I Know You Know" Keep Me On Your Mind/See You Free (Jagjaguwar, Jun 7) D
- Boy Golden, "Here To Stay" For Eden (Six Shooter, Jul 19) D
- Lawrence Rothman, "Dreams Die Hard" Plow That Broke the Plains (KRO, Apr 26)
- Pernice Brothers, "December In Her Eyes" Who Will You Believe (New West, 24)
- Madi Diaz, "One Less Question (ft Lennon Stella)" single (Anti, 24) D
- Hermanos Gutierrez, "Until We Meet Again" Sonido Cosmico (Easy Eye, Jun 14)
- Marcus King, "Cadillac" Mood Swings (American, 24)
- Cedric Burnside, "Toll On They Life" Hill Country Love (Mascot, 24)
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