ROUTES & BRANCHES
featuring the very best of americana, alt.country and roots music
June 22, 2025
Scott Foley, purveyor of dust
One big challenge with our If You Only Listen strategy is that weeks like this offer several likely candidates. In principle, we disagree with selecting a single album, but we're also aware that it's better than resorting to your old, musty favorites. This Episode, we've considered recommending Kelsey Waldon's impressive new project, a lovingly fractured album from Little Mazarn, and a reminder that James McMurtry continues to make music that matters. But ...
IF YOU ONLY LiSTEN to ONE RECORD THiS WEEK
... you should spend some time with SG Goodman's Planting By the Signs. Simplicity ain't easy. On her third full-length album, the Kentucky songwriter presents her Songs of the Haunted South with as minimal accompaniment as we've heard. Matt Pence's drums are direct, while electric guitars ring ("Fire Sign"), buzz ("Michael Told Me") and fret ("Solitaire"). Without layering or reverb, Goodman's tattered voice is both deeply traditional and reliably unconventional. Even in its untamed state, her delivery is beautiful on "I'm in Love" and on the stirring "Solitaire". The magic Goodman weaves on Planting has become darker, fueled by compassion and loss, her lyrics often repeated like an incantation. It's a striking collection from one of the genre's increasingly valuable voices.
ROUTES-cast June 22, 2025
^ SG Goodman, "I Can See the Devil" Planting By the Signs (Slough Water, 25)
- James McMurtry, "Laredo (Small Dark Something)" Black Dog & Wandering Boy (New West, 25)
- Lukas Nelson, "American Romance" American Romance (Sony, 25)
- Kelsey Waldon, "Ghost of Myself" Every Ghost (Oh Boy, 25)
- Will Hoge, "Sweet Misery" Sweet Misery (Hoge, Aug 22) D
- Joshua Ray Walker, "I Don't Wanna Be Alone" Tropicana (East Dallas, 25)
- Brent Cobb, "Take Yer Meds" Ain't Rocked in a While (Ol' Buddy, Jul 11)
- Carson McHone, "Winter Breaking" Pentimento (Merge, Sep 12) D
- Chris Staples, "Doesn't Matter Now" Don't Worry (Hot Tub, Aug 5)
- Cass McCombs, "Peace" Interior Live Oak (Domino, Aug 15)
- Billie Marten, "Clover" Dog Eared (Fiction, Jul 18)
- Bonnie Dobson & Hanging Stars, "Get Together" Dreams (Loose, Jul 11)
- Scott McMicken and THE EVER-EXPANDING, "One Good Reason" NEW PURPLE DRESS (Press On, 25) D
- Wood Brothers, "The Trick" Puff of Smoke (Honey Jar, Aug 1)
- Left Lane Cruiser, "Broke Down Lines" single (Alive Natural Sound, 25) D
- Deep Dark Woods, "Traded in Your Name" single (Victory Pool, 25) D
- Dean Johnson, "Before You Hit the Ground" I Hope We Can Still Be Friends (Saddle Creek, Aug 22)
- Kyle Morgan & Tamar Korn, "Everything is Free" Darkening Green (Jalopy, Aug 15)
- Jeffrey Martin, "Edge of Lost" single (Fluff & Gravy, 25) D
- Anna Tivel, "Animal Poem" Animal Poem (Fluff & Gravy, Aug 29) D
- Ben Nichols, "Darkness Sings" In the Heart of the Mountain (Liberty & Lament, Jul 25)
- Cory Hanson, "Lou Reed" I Love People (Drag City, Jul 25)
- Little Mazarn, "Great Divide" Mustang Island (Dear Life, 25)
- Lucius, "Joyride" Joyride EP (Fantasy, 25) D
- Fruit Bats, "Stuck in My Head Again" Baby Man (Merge, Sep 12) D
- Dears, "Babe We'll Find a Way" single (Next Door, 25) D
- Boo Boos, "C'mon Baby" Young Love (Play it Again Sam, Sep 19) D
- Wednesday, "Wound Up Here (By Holdin On)" Bleeds (Dead Oceans, Sep 19)
- Max Knouse, "Chipmunk'd Away" Chipmunk'd Away (Jealous Butcher, 25)
- Steve Gunn, "Slow Singers on the Hill" Music for Writers (Three Lobed, Aug 15) D
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