ROUTES & BRANCHES
featuring the very best of americana, alt.country and roots music
June 29, 2025
Scott Foley, purveyor of dust
IF YOU ONLY LiSTEN to ONE RECORD THiS WEEK
There's a remarkable story behind Vandoliers' fifth full-length. The course of events began very early in frontperson Jenni Rose's life, but was truly set in motion in 2023 at a Tennessee concert when the Texas outfit took the stage in dresses as a protest against the governor's anti-drag bill. As she tells Rolling Stone, that served as her official debut as a trans woman. We encourage you to read the story, but especially to listen to the Vandoliers' great Life Behind Bars (Break Maiden). Always a fiery performer, Jenni Rose and her band step into their role as the most likely heirs of Old 97s' country-punk mantle. Generously peppered with dashes of pedal steel, fiddle, and trumpet, Vandoliers never wander far from their Texas country roots, especially pairing with Joshua Ray Walker and Taylor Hunnicut on "You Can't Party With the Lights On". Life Behind Bars is driven by Jenni Rose's own story, but is not fettered by the life-and-death subject matter. On the contrary, in embracing her best way forward she has re-energized her band's glorious spectacle.
ROUTES-cast June 29, 2025
^ Vandoliers, "Bible Belt" Life Behind Bars (Break Maiden, 25)
- Willi Carlisle, "We Have Fed You All For 1000 Years" Winged Victory (Signature Sounds, 25)
- SG Goodman, "I'm In Love" Planting By the Signs (Slough Water, 25)
- Katie Pruitt, "Backseat Driver" single (Rounder, 25) D
- Kelsey Waldon, "Let It Lie" Every Ghost (Oh Boy, 25)
- James McMurtry, "Pinocchio in Vegas" Black Dog & the Wandering Boy (New West, 25)
- Patty Griffin, "Born in a Cage" Crown of Roses (PGM, Jul 25)
- Christian Lopez, "Let It Sink In" Christian Lopez EP (Paradox, 25) D
- David Mead, "Maybe You've Had Enough (ft Kathleen Edwards)" January San Fernando (Mead, Sep 19) D
- Rodney Crowell, "Sometime Thang" Airline Highway (New West, Aug 29)
- Morgan Wade, "Left Me Behind" Party is Over (recovered) (Ladylike, Aug 1)
- Cody Jinks, "The Others" In My Blood (Late August, Jul 25)
- Ashley McBryde, "Rattlesnake Preacher" single (Warner, 25) D
- Jason Eady, "Some Things Are Wrong (and that's alright)" single (Old Guitar, 25)
- Caitlin Canty, "Bird Dog" Night Owl Envies the Mourning Dove (Canty, Oct 2)
- Owen Temple, "Drought or Flood" single (El Paisano, 25) D
- Joseph Decosimo, "Ida Red" Fiery Gizzard (Dear Life, Aug 15) D
- Tommy Prine, "Purple Paint" single (Nameless Knight, 25) D
- Billy Allen + the Pollies, "Run Baby Run" Black Noise (Single Lock, 25)
- Durand Jones & the Indications, "Rust and Steel" Flowers (Dead Oceans, 25)
- Alex G, "June Guitar" Headlights (RCA, Jul 18)
- Greg Freeman, "Gallic Shrug" Burnover (Transgressive, Aug 22)
- Laura Stevenson, "I Want to Remember It All" Late Great (Really, 25)
- Kurt Vile, "Classic Love (ft Luke Roberts)" Classic Love EP (Verve, Jul 25) D
- Briscoe, "Roughnecks" Heat of July (ATO, Sep 19) D
- Case Oats, "In a Bungalow" Last Missouri Exit (Merge, Aug 22)
- Ada Lea, "something in the wind" I paint my masterpiece (Saddle Creek, Aug 8)
- Scott McMicken and THE EVER-EXPANDING, "Heart 'n Split" NEW PURPLE DRESS (Press On, 25)
- Nadia Reid, "Moment By" single (Chrysalis, 25) D
- Folk Bitch Trio, "Moth Song" Now Would Be a Good Time (Jagjaguwar, Jul 25)
--------------------------
To enjoy any Spotify ROUTES-cast, just open Spotify and search for "routesandbranches" to access this most recent playlist, as well as many others from past months. Or click here for a preview:
No comments:
Post a Comment