ROUTES & BRANCHES
featuring the very best of americana, alt.country and roots music
November 1, 2024
Scott Foley, purveyor of dust
Oh the days dwindle down to a precious few / September, November ... Though Kurt Weil left October from his lyric (purposefully? out of spite?), he was certainly alive to enjoy the gift that is daylight savings. Here at R&B HQ, we're observing the disappearance of the sun by planning our traditional year-end lists. Since our last November 1, we've expanded our blogging horizons from just one Episode per week to our current, spastic daily publication. Since the idea of new music hibernates with the sun, our plan is to temporarily repurpose Fridays for those end-of-year accounting functions. Following are the dates:
Nov 29: Covers Covers Covers
Dec 6: State Of Americana
Dec 13: Favorite Songs
Dec 20: Christmas Christmas
Dec 27: Favorite Albums
Jan 3: Quarter Century
Please add these to your Holly Hobbie wall calendar (in erasable pen, since they're subject to change on a whim).
But let's turn our attention to:
WHAT's SO GREAT ABOUT THiS WEEK?!!
Cold Specks, "Wandering In the Wild" single (Mute, Oct 30)
It seems we might be in for a new Cold Specks record. The Canadian songwriter's second recent single focuses on a stay in a psychiatric hospital prior to a bipolar diagnosis: What does it mean to be at peace. Co-written with Chantal Kreviazuk, "Wandering" is a tentative piano ballad, opening to strings and horns as the song unspools. Add this and Cold Specks' July single, "How It Feels" to your so-melancholy-it-feels-good Fall playlist.
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Devil Makes Three, "Spirits" Spirits (New West, Feb 28)
Pete Bernhard and company preceded the announcement of their February full-length by sharing a couple cover songs. Turns out those were standalones, as their forthcoming record features all new original songs. Devil Makes Three speak about returning to their stripped-back punk/blues/country roots on the new set, produced by Ted Hutt: Too many spirits in the bottle / All I do is speak with the dead. The sessions also mark the replacement of bass and vocalist Lucia Turino with former Brown Bird member MorganEve Swain, who began touring with the band a couple years ago.
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Sean Barna, "Wallflower (ft Mirah)" Internal Trembling EP (Kill Rock Stars, Nov 22)
Barna is following his album about queer nightlife (you might need "Disco Nap") with an EP inspired by the wide vistas of remote Western Colorado. The New York singer-songwriter is joined on the beautiful "Wallflower" by touring partner Mirah and by the acoustic ensemble Hawktail: Paul Kowert, Brittany Haas, and Jordan Tice. Barna sings the names of five people killed at a gay bar in Colorado Springs in 2022.
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Them Coulee Boys, "I Am Not Sad" No Fun In the Chrysalis (Some Fun, Feb 28)
Wisconsin's TCB are readying their February full-length, introduced with this rousing electro-acoustic track dedicated to a frank and open approach to talking about our mental health: I am not sad anymore / At least not today. Per the band's Soren Staff: It's a celebration of happiness in the moment, while acknowledging that there's times when it's harder.
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Jesse Welles, "Have You Ever Seen the Rain (ft Matt Quinn)" single (Welles, Oct 29)
It's very true that the world doesn't need another Creedence Clearwater Revival cover song. And we've given throwback singer-songwriter Jesse Welles his share of time on our playlists for his tireless 2024 stream of singles. But Welles' CCR cover hits different, showing him in a great light as a singer, and Mt Joy's Matt Quinn sounds terrific as well on this homey porch take. John Fogerty doesn't need any more of our dollars, but we'll let it pass this once.
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