featuring the very best of americana, alt.country and roots music
March 1, 2026
Scott Foley, purveyor of dust
Whoops. Looks like February's gone. That was quick. But moving onto March, we're facing some potentially good new stuff from acts like Bonny Prince Billy, Morgan Nagler, Cat Clyde, Johnny Blue Skies, Charlotte Cornfield, Big Harp and good god so much more. March's onslaught began on Friday with no fewer than twenty-five (25) new releases (check A Routes & Branches Guide To Feeding Your Monster for a complete accounting). We're pleased with LPs from Bill Callahan and the return of Crooked Fingers. We're also looking at a new solo record from Buck Meek, and Iron & Wine's new project. Nevertheless ...
IF YOU ONLY LiSTEN to ONE RECORD THiS WEEK
As we've noted, it's not our job here to psychoanalyze or label an artist. We're all about the music. But we've been concerned about Adeem the Artist lately, based on several social media posts. At one point they announced their retirement. Fortunately, Adeem now declares I miss it, seemingly looking for a more sustainable, supportive avenue for what they call my road chaplaincy. For now, Adeem the Artist has shared a wonderful, rough-grained collection via Bandcamp. Notes From Inside doesn't feature the relative polish of 2022's high-water mark White Trash Revelry or '24's terrific Anniversary, but these raw new songs land hard and cut deep.
The expectation for this sort of under-the-radar project might be lower, but while these are relatively lo-fi recordings, all acoustic, and often brief in duration, there's nothing tossed away here. Songs like "Jason Isbell B-Side" are short, but are built on Adeem the Artist's inescapable lyrical gift: The hardest part of all this / I can't even slit my wrists / Without the risk that I will get my whole life poorly summarized / In shocking grit with grizzled wit by strangers who know half of it. Yes, the subject matter of Notes From the Inside can be heavy lifting, but we've come to expect that from the gender-fluid, confessionally-oriented songwriter. Especially on "Learning To Drive Again" or "Ruin Me", the artist edges near the sort of rapid-fire, rambling storytelling of John Darnielle or Craig Finn (Immerse me in your perspicuity, Adeem barks on the latter).
Adeem the Artist's songs don't engage in self-indulgent navel-gazing, but tend to focus on moments of meeting with others. They reference the late Todd Snider on "St Todd (I Grow Lonely In New Ways)": When I was a child I was meek and mild / I was effeminate, prophetic, and articulate / I was possessed by the fire of an ancient desire. On the passionate "Canvas To the Frame", they observe of another, You're a mess of stars and poetry, rising from the clay. The fact that Adeem the Artist rattled these dozen tunes off on the fly, apparently in hopes of raising funds for ongoing mental health support, serves to attest to their brilliance. "Cowards Together" was released as a single last June, recorded with a fuller band. While these Nebraska-esque vignettes are not lacking, there's a sense that a more traditional approach to their recording would have resulted in a project at least as impactful as Adeem's last few collections. Adeem the Artist has recently scheduled a few one-off shows, and on "Impossible", they're almost reassuring: I will make it / But not how you planned.
While we draw from Spotify at the moment for our weekly ROUTES-casts, we will try to direct your valuable attention to projects available elsewhere where possible. Essential names like Lucinda Williams have excluded the ubiquitous platform from their publicity plans, and Sturgill Simpson is apparently making his second Johnny Blue Skies album Mutiny After Midnight available only in physical format. This is not to mention an increasing number of lesser-know acts like Clearwater Swimmers who we can't include on our recurring playlists.
ROUTES-cast March 1, 2026
- Bill Callahan, "And Dream Land" My Days Of 58 (Drag City, 26)
- Iron & Wine, "Singing Saw" Hen's Teeth (Sub Pop, 26)
- Michael Cormier-O'Leary, "Pressed Flowers" Proof Enough EP (Dear Life, 26)
- Sluice, "Zillow" Companion (Mtn Laurel, Mar 27)
- Terry Allen & Blood Sucking Maniacs, "Blood Sucking Maniacs" Blood Sucking Maniacs (Paradise Of Bachelors, Apr 24) D
- Donovan Woods, "Losing Everything (ft Anais Mitchell)" Squander Your Gifts EP (Meant Well, 26)
- Libby DeCamp, "Tigers Of Wrath" single (Hylaphonic Sound, 26) D
- Buck Meek, "God Knows Why" The Mirror (4AD, 26)
- Pearla, "Imagine Your Face" Song Room (Pearla, Apr 24)
- Crooked Fingers, "Empty Love and Cheap Thrills" Swet Deth (Merge, 26)
- Rose Hotel, "Patterns" single (Strolling Bones, 26) D
- Julianna Riolino, "Would That It Were So Simple" Echo In the Dust (Deluxe) (MoonWhistle, 26)
- Danny George Wilson, "Arcade" Arcade (Loose, Mar 20)
- Ben Chapman, "Everything's Different" single (Hippie Shack, 26) D
- Bobby Dove, "Leaving Mantioba" Fortune Teller (New Motor, Apr 24) D
- Tender Things, "Eatin' At Home" single (Spaceflight, 26)
- Nora Kelly Band, "Port City Blues" So Wrong For So Long (Mint, May 22) D
- Kevin Carducci, "House Of Cards" Easy Does It (Fossil, Apr 24) D
- Mikaela Davis, "Rose Colored Glasses (ft Madison Cunningham)" Graceland Way (Kill Rock Stars, Apr 24) D
- Pert Near Sandstone, "Quiet Hours" Side By Side (PNS, 26)
- Tenille Townes, "the acrobat (ft Lori McKenna)" the acrobat (Township Road, Apr 10) D
- Aaron Lee Tasjan, "Science Friction" single (Blue Elan, 26) D
- Hurray For the Riff Raff, "Rhododendron (Live)" Live Forever (Nonesuch, Mar 20) D
- Builders & the Butchers, "Rise My Son" No Tomorrow (Badman, Apr 3)
- Little Barrie, "More Band Miles Of Road" Gravity Freeze (Easy Eye, May 22) D
- King Tuff, "Invisible Ink" MOO (MUP, Mar 27)
- Courtney Barnett, "Mantis" Creature Of Habit (Mom + Pop, Mar 27)
- Magic Tuber Stringband, "Tribute To the Angels" Heavy Water (Thrill Jockey, May 22) D
- Family Worship Center, "Malibu By Midnight" single (Groove Family, 26) D
- Rodney Crowell, 'Go Light a Candle (ft Emmylou Harris, Lera Lynn)" single (New West, 26) D
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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:
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