WHAT's SO GREAT ABOUT THiS WEEK?!! (July 17, 2026)

ROUTES & BRANCHES

featuring the very best of americana, alt.country and roots music

July 17, 2026

Scott Foley, purveyor of dust

WHAT's SO GREAT ABOUT THiS WEEK?!!

Bright Eyes, "Wonderful Life" Felice County Fair: Celebration Of Felice Brothers  (Sony, Oct 16)

Such a thoughtful gift for the lover of all things Felice and Oberst in your life. This lovingly assembled collection features a great lineup of artists paying tribute to the Brother Felice. Here we'll cite the frontguy for Bright Eyes himself: Whatever little checkmarks in my heart need to be checked to make the perfect music, they check all those things. The poetry is there, the soulfulness is there, the song craft

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Jess Williamson, "Goodbye To All That" A Mile South Of Heaven  (New West, Oct 9)

As devoted admirers of Jess Williamson's work, we didn't necessarily need to her follow her friend Katie Crutchfield down the road to Saint Cloud. Nevertheless, that's what she seems to be doing with her first project for New West. Produced by Shooter Jennings and featuring the Mastersons as her accompanists, "Goodbye" is a fine intro to what should be a great collection. 

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Candi Jenkins, "Holding Out (On Moving On)"  single  (Cloverdale, 26)

Another very strong single from Ms Jenkins, who also gifted us a cover of Fred Eaglesmith's "Trucker Speed" a few weeks ago. With producer Andrija Tokik, there should be a full-length on the horizon featuring more of this seemingly effortless country cheer. 

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Hank Heaven, "I Wanna Be Your Man" Welterweight EP  (Nice Life, Aug 14)

This is the sweetest lovesong we've heard featuring the line, I got my own place but got no rent to pay / Cause it turns out the landlord is in prison. It's the debut single from a just-announced EP from the New York songwriter, who has also served with folks like Del Water Gap and Samia. Chances are you'll also want to their "Thread" single from a few weeks ago. 

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Tyler Ballgame, "Live It Down" single  (Rough Trade, 26)

Tyler Ballgame's January full-length is one of our favorite debuts of 2026. This follow-up single from the fascinating performer slides nicely alongside those songs. It's rhythms and progressions remind us a bit of Lindsey Buckingham's "Second Hand News", without those unnecessary bow-bow's. 

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A ROUTES & BRANCHES GUiDE to FEEDiNG YOUR MONSTER (July 16, 2026)

A ROUTES & BRANCHES GUiDE to FEEDiNG YOUR MONSTER

good news about good noise

July 16, 2026

Scott Foley, purveyor of dust

If you're thinkin' that the Rolling Stones' new record is the biggest story of the week, boy have we got news for you! Our Routes & Branches Guide To Feeding Your Monster delivers a jawdropping calendar of new releases so you never miss a thing. Since we last spoke, we added a newly announced project from traditionalist Jake Xerxes Fussell. With a September 18 street date, The Old Beloved Path will appear courtesy of the Fat Possum label. That same day, it seems we'll be graced with a new Orville Peck record. You can thank Warner for the arrival of Mule. We're cautiously optimistic about Leon Bridges' Happiness Anytime album (Sep 25, Columbia), as long as it doesn't sound like Jimmy Buffett doing reggae. Jess Williamson's next LP, A Mile South Of Heaven, marks her debut with a new label. New West will release the collection on October 9. Finally, Willi Carlisle's next is a double-CD produced by Tyler Childers. Universal Bubba will bear a Signature Sounds imprimatur come November 6. 

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^ We meaningfully included Bella White's A Sign In the Weather among our favorites for the first half of the year. Bluegrass Situation chats with the songwriter about relocating to New Orleans, being unable to record at the Deslondes' studio so doing so in the house next door, and Muji pens. 

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Aaron Lee Tasjan's Get Over It Underdog appears wherever music matters this Friday. The songwriter speaks to Glide Magazine about the influence of Todd Snider. And also Mitch Hedberg. And Jonathan Winters ...

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News has spread that Amy Helm has been removed from the Board for Levon Helm Studios, and that any future Midnight Ramble plans are suspended. Hm. Showbiz 411 has a few details. 

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Here at R&B HQ, we're rumored to be allergic to bluegrass. While that's only situationally true, we're impressed with the news that Lindsay Lou will be releasing an album paying tribute to the women who helped lay the foundation of bluegrass. Co-conspirators are plenty, including Sarah Jarosz, Molly Tuttle, Sierra Hull, and many more. Grateful Web details the project, and also includes the trailer for a multi-part documentary about the sessions. 

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In the week's oddest story, Charley Crockett has booted satanic doo-wop act Twin Temple from his tour. Saving Country Music saves country music by exploring why they were there in the first place, and why there are there no longer. Also, we're hereby updating our byline to read featuring the very best of americana, alt.country, roots music, and satanic doo-wop. 

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Oh no: More bluegrass! The revolving door known as Old Crow Medicine Show has welcomed back Chance McCoy for their current tour. No doubt inspired by our recent Lookback Machine segment, Bluegrass Standard checks in with the multi-instrumentalist to see if he's up for the challenge. 

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Newport Folk Festival has released a series of videos called Sea To Shining Sea, talking to artists about the importance of music in the 250 years of our country. Sierra Ferrell, who seems to have been on the road for the past 8 years, offers some perspective around Mindy Smith's "Come To Jesus". Also, let's encourage more of our artists to wear grills and facial piercings. As a national treasure, Ferrell can pull it off. 

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When is it still legal to perform Grateful Dead covers? When you're Gillian Welch and David Rawlings. Relix reports that the duo are continuing what they call their Acoustic Reckoning concert series. You can also read a fuller article for the small cost of your email address!

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Finally, we're impressed with River Shook's recent self-titled collection. Good Country shares our appreciation, and interviews Shook about building the album around their vocals, striking out with labels, and what was up with that Mightmare thing. 

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LOOKBACK MACHiNE: Be Good Tanyas

ROUTES & BRANCHES

featuring the very best of americana, alt.country and roots music

July 15, 2026

Scott Foley, purveyor of dust

Frazey Ford, Jolie Holland, Trish Klein, Samantha Parton. In their various combinations, Be Good Tanyas released just three (3) records during their collaboration. But Blue Horse, Chinatown and Hello Love remain unparalleled as the product of the coming together of such unique voices. Of course, the Trio sessions of Harris, Parton, and Ronstadt were remarkable, but Be Good Tanyas featured almost unknown artists creating something new. 

For this Episode of Lookback Machine, we're not only celebrating the music of Be Good Tanyas. We're reaching into the solo work of Ford, Holland, Klein, and Parton and extracting the gems. While most of their work featured original songs, they were also deeply guided by trad music, as well as a handful of terrific covers - we could make a case for BGTs' run through "When Doves Cry" as among the very best in our kind of music. We also gave some thought to featuring songs from Po' Girl, Trish Klein's act with Allison Russell, but didn't want to cast our net too wide. 

BE GOOD TANYAS: thirty favorites

- "The Littlest Birds" Blue Horse (Be Good Tanyas, 2001)

- "Lakes Of Pontchartrain" 

- "Light Enough To Travel" 

- "Roll My Blues" Catalpa (Jolie Holland, 2003)

- "Wandering Angus" 

- "It's Not Happening" Chinatown (Be Good Tanyas, 2003)

- "In Spite Of All the Damage" 

- "In My Time Of Dying" 

- "Rudy" Maybe This Christmas Too (Be Good Tanyas, 2003)

- "Old Fashioned Morphine" Escondida (Jolie Holland, 2004)

- "Amen" 

- "Goodbye California" 

- "Crush In the Ghetto" Springtime Can Kill You (Jolie Holland, 2006)

- "Mexican Blue" 

- "For the Turnstiles" Hello Love (Be Good Tanyas, 2006)

- "Draft Daughter's Blues aka Ootischenia" 

- "When Doves Cry" 

- "Mexico City (ft M Ward)" Living and the Dead (Jolie Holland, 2008)

- "Firecracker" Obadiah (Frazey Ford, 2010)

- "One More Cup Of Coffee" 

- "All Those Girls" Pint Of Blood (Jolie Holland, 2011)

- "September Fields" Indian Ocean (Frazey Ford, 2014)

- "Done" 

- "On and On" Wine Dark Sea (Jolie Holland, 2014)

- "Waiting For the Sun" 

- "Wildflower Blues" Wildflower Blues (Jolie Holland, Samantha Parton, 2017)

- "Louisiana 1927" single (Jolie Holland, 2018)

- "Azad" U kin B the Sun (Frazey Ford, 2020)

- "Highway 72 (ft Buck Meek)" Haunted Mountain (Jolie Holland, 2023)

- "Haunted Mountain" 

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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:

IF YOU ONLY LiSTEN to ONE RECORD THiS WEEK (July 14, 2026)

ROUTES & BRANCHES

featuring the very best of americana, alt.country and roots music

July 14, 2026

Scott Foley, purveyor of dust

Another tough week, forcing us to tag just one record to highlight. We could easily have waxed enthusiastic about any of the promising projects mentioned in Sunday's ROUTES-cast. Nevertheless, we persist. 

IF YOU ONLY LiSTEN to ONE RECORD THiS WEEK

Let's start with a playlist Twisted Teens have apparently assembled on Spotify. Friends Of the Twisted Teens seems to feature acts the duo have played with or encountered during their travels, several hailing from New Orleans' underheralded arts scene. In addition to more familiar names like the Lostines and Kiki Cavazos, there are very indie artists like Remi Dean or Forty Drop Few with no more than a handful of listeners. Stylistically, the playlist veers between punk and roots, pop and folk, most decidedly lo-fi and bearing a musty garage essence. In all the best ways. 

We mention this playlist as a way of wrapping our ears around Twisted Teens. The playlist is one of several online from CPNPC, otherwise known as Caspian Hollywell. Alongside RJ Santos, he makes up Twisted Teens, who have just shared Florida Water Blues, their second record of 2026 and their third LP since a self-titled project appeared in 2024. While there is an unrehearsed immediacy to his music, Hollywell knows stuff. He understands the tradition of which the duo are a part, the idea that punk is a community as opposed to a genre. 

These songs were a product of Twisted Teens' sessions for Blame the Clown, mined from the same vein of country, folk, and blues forced through a lo-fi filter and occasionally collaged with found noise. "Swamp" begins with a patch of sound, then: I live in a crazy swamp just about in the crotch of America / Smells like ket and two piece chicken. Santos' steel guitar provides a foil to Hollywell's phlegmy bark, a juxtaposition that defines the push-pull of Twisted Teens. As the singer explains in an interview, it's traditional music with a weird, awkward, future element to it. "Weather the Season" establishes an early rock 'n stroll, featuring Hollywell's strongest vocal and his primitive electric guitar jangle. 

Even Twisted Teens' relatively tame moments vibrate with outsider energy. One of the year's worthiest songs, the title cut lays out its Southern rock, replete with Santos' genuine steel solo before things take a Mojo Nixon turn: The sun and the rain make a golden shower / And I would drink it all if I had my power. Songs like "Top Of the World Hwy No 2" and "Concealed Weepin'" speak most readily to the Teens' punk connections. With its rapidfire bass, the latter delivers spoken verses from Caspian: Little fucker with a big attitude / Did not socially integrate to the school / Did not get in the deep end of the pool / Was not considered super duper cool. 

Tunes start and finish abruptly, sometimes bookended with manipulated noise. "Riding" closes with a length of digitized shape note singing, morphing into the next song's gospel snippet which stumbles into the twang guitar and spoken vocal of "Business". The mess and clutter is essential to the success of Florida Water Blues, the programmed percussion or throwback synth simply contributes to the Twisted Teens' oddity, as does the humidity of the production. "Javelina" offers a near-standard alt.country arrangement, and "Sun Go Down" falls just this side of a country balled, until the final two minutes dissolve into soggy strings and a wheeze of noise. While occasionally tough to pigeonhole, it's all a part of the living tradition of vernacular music. We eagerly await this fall's promised Holy Cross Tigers, a new project the duo refer to as their Blood On the Tracks. Is nothing sacred? No, thank God. 

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ROUTES-cast July 12, 2026

ROUTES & BRANCHES

featuring the very best of americana, alt.country and roots music

July 12, 2026

Scott Foley, purveyor of dust

There is no shortage of appealing options for this week's recommendations. At present, we're considering devoting our weekly review to William Matheny, Tracey Nelson, Houndmouth, Twisted Teens, Idle County, or this dark horse candidate, Dean Schlabowske's ambitious production about Davy Crockett's unsuccessful 1833 run for the White House. But, as we're quick to acknowledge, too much is better than not enough, and we're patiently awaiting the right album to rise organically to the top. In the meantime, we have this thing:

ROUTES-cast July 12, 2026

^ William Matheny, "Material Witness" Material Witness  (Diamond Teeth, 26)

- John Moreland, "Faded Love and Memories (ft Lydia Loveless)" Sittin' With Blaze: Tribute To Blaze Foley  (Lost Art, Aug 7)

- Mary Gauthier, "Reckoning" Reckoning  (In the Black, Sep 28)  D

- Palmyra, "Sleep Softly" Cheap Beer EP  (Oh Boy, Sep 17)

- Will Sheff, "Lapsed Catholic" Extra Mile  (Solid Ghost, 26)

- Madeleine Edwards, "American Psycho" single  (Mississippi Rain, 26)  D

- Elanor Moss, "The Way That It Feels" The Knife the Needle  (Merge, Aug 21)

- Hollow Hand, "I Turned My Back On the World" Wish Road South  (Loose, Sep 4)

- Anna Graves, "Goldmine" America's Greatest Burnout  (Rounder, Aug 21)

- Biita Houdei, "The Ground Here" This Bed Was Made For Me  (Father/Daughter, Sep 18)  D

- Lindsay Lou, "All I Ever Loved Was You" Bluegrass Women  (Work Of Bart, Aug 14)  D

- Goodnight Texas, "Winter Of '68"  Wooden Machine  (Goodnight, Sep 16)  D

- Idle County, "Wilson Watts Dr" Long Gone Saviors  (Idle County, 26)  

- Dogwood Tales, "Ralph Sampson" Every Star In Rockingham County  (Born Losers, Aug 28)

- Houndmouth, "Carbondale" Lordy  (Dualtone, 26)

- Squirrel Flower, "Not Me" Say a Prayer To the Gods Of Getting Going  (Polyvinyl, Aug 20)

- Bures Band, "High Tide" single  (Love Police, 26)  D

- Futurebirds, "Sober Somewhere" Far Out Country  (Dualtone, Sep 3)

- Tracey Nelson, "St John's River" Hercules  (Perennial, 26)

- David Quinn, "Cold Turkey" single  (Quinn, 26)  D

- Twisted Teens, "Florida Water Blues" Florida Water Blues  (Going Underground, 26)  D

- Alabama Shakes, "I Feel Hope Coming" I Must Be Dreaming  (Island, Aug 28)  D

- Sam & Louise Sullivan, "Love & Devotion" Love & Devotion  (Historic New Jersey, Jul 24)

- Magic City Hippies, "Snakes" single  (MCH, 26)  D

- Allison Russell, "Love Is a Golden Lion (ft Devon Gillfillian)" In the Hour Of Chaos  (Fantasy, 26)

- Cory Branan, "Ricochet" You'll Live  (Blue Elan, Oct 9)

- Mountain Goats, "Candlebox" Days  (Cadmean Dawn, Aug 6)

- Ada Lea, "copycat" the end is a wave  (Saddle Creek, Aug 12)  D

- HUG, "Cow With Half Moon Parasol" HUG  (Luaka Bop, Sep 11)  D

- Kelly Hogan/Nora O'Connor/Sally Timms, "A Song About Power" Congressman Davy: A Musical  (Plenty Tuff, 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:

WHAT's SO GREAT ABOUT THiS WEEK?!! (July 10, 2026)

ROUTES & BRANCHES

featuring the very best of americana, alt.country and roots music

July 10, 2026

Scott Foley, purveyor of dust

We hope your week has been blooming with great new music. Just in case you need some encouragement, we're here with five (5) songs that we've been enjoying over the past several days. Consider it a spoiler for the Spotify ROUTES-cast that's waiting in the wings for Sunday. We'll remind you that we consider any song that's been released as a single, rather than just any old album track. We call it

WHAT's SO GREAT ABOUT THiS WEEK?!!

Twisted Teens, "Florida Water Blues" Florida Water Blues  (Going Underground, Jul 10)

Yes, we're going here again (and there's a good chance it won't be the last time in the next couple days). Though we're still working to get our heads around what's exactly going on with Twisted Teens, the New Orleans duo of Caspian and RJ are making music that is so messed up that it's perfect. Like the band itself, the story behind their video isn't entirely clear, but we know it won't end well. 

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Squirrel Flower, "Not Me" Say a Prayer To the Gods Of Getting Going  (Polyvinyl, Aug 21)

We don't recall Ella Williams' first couple records as Squirrel Flower being as good as the singles we've heard from her August release. Co-produced by the suddenly ubiquitous Alex Farrar, "Not Me" encourages a country lilt, albeit with a thickened electric guitar buzz like we like. 

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Alabama Shakes, "I Feel Hope Coming" I Must Be Dreaming  (Island, Aug 28)

This week's announcement of the first Alabama Shakes project in forever fulfilled at least one of our wishes for 2026. The accompanying single is both dreamy and chewy, landing between the Shakes' more organic early stuff and Brittany Howard's bolder solo work. It's our intention to simply follow the lyric here, and Get dug in. 

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Dogwood Tales, "Ralph Sampson" Every Star In Rockingham County  (Born Losers, Aug 28)

We expect this Virginia band's August album to be among the year's sleepers - their second collection of 2026, counting January's project with Euphoria Again. "Ralph Sampson" is a stony alt.country number with that humid southeast vibe that's inescapable nowadays: My grandmad swears her dog was a Christian / And I sleep better knowing / Delly's up in Heaven ...

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Magic City Hippies, "Snakes" single  (MCH, 26)

You ever come across a band's name and just know what they're probably going to sound like? We're new to this Miami trio, but can vibe with this groovy, laid-back single. If we had a pool (and if the air wasn't chunky with particulate matter), we'd be soundtracking our swim with stuff like this. And we'd make sure the bass was bumped up enough to rattle the fences. 

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A ROUTES & BRANCHES GUiDE to FEEDiNG YOUR MONSTER (July 9, 2026)

A ROUTES & BRANCHES GUiDE to FEEDiNG YOUR MONSTER

good news about good noise

July 9, 2026

Scott Foley, purveyor of dust

A Routes & Branches Guide To Feeding Your Monster keeps you supplied with news about new and forthcoming records. Since we last gathered, we have added new stuff from Twisted Teens (see below for a link to an interview that only deepens the mystery). Ada Lea seems to be morphing into a pop artist on the end is a wave, set for an August 12 debut via Saddle Creek. Alabama Shakes (see below, too), returns with the August 28 I Must Be Dreaming. HUG marks the return of Devendra Banhart, performing with a new group. Their self-titled debut hits September 11 (Luaka Bop). Finally, Hayley Heynderickx serves as assistant producer on the debut of Biita Houdei. Expect This Bed Was Made For Me (Father/Daughter) wherever music matters on September 18.  

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Twisted Teens' February record is one of our favorites for 2026. The garage punk 'n blues duo have already announced the follow-up, Florida Water Blues, and yet another in the wings. Paste features Caspian and RJ, two of the more curious figures in our type of music. 

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On the eve of the release of William Matheny's Material Witness, the songwriter sits with Twangville to discuss eating tinned fish in close spaces, Trump's creepy looking kid, and finding empty Go-Gurt tubes in his touring vehicle. 

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NME introduces us to Little Grandad, another in a continuing series of British alt.country acts. The London quartet are stirring up a buzz despite the fact that they've released only two songs to date. 

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Is it time for another Geese story? Yes. Yes, it is. Far Out makes a case for a very early Geese project, released in 2021, prior to the band's high school graduation. 

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Oh good! World Cafe has uploaded a live interview and performance from Max Clarke and Cut Worms. Our take here is that their songs sound even better live than on March's Transmitter LP. 

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The release date for the first Alabama Shakes collection in over a decade has been announced (Aug 28!). Frontperson Brittany Howard gives Our Culture a few details. 

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We've been riding the Mildred wagon since the April release of their terrific Fenceline project. The Ugly Hug share some time with the Oakland band, dropping some tea regarding shared songwriting, great $9 martinis, petting Jones the cat, and more sexy stuff. 

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Kisser is a project that pairs Buck Meek, Germaine Dunes, Luke Temple, and more. Their first two songs have appeared on Bandcamp so far. And now they're on Routes & Branches. Kisser have earned the opening spot on Buck's solo tour. 

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We profiled Styrofoam Winos and published an appreciation of their Any River record a few weeks ago. We don't know much about downtown_lanc_zine, but we notice they've uploaded an interview with the Winos to their Insta. 

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