Sunday, October 13, 2024

ROUTES-cast October 13, 2024

ROUTES & BRANCHES
featuring the very best of americana, alt.country and roots music
October 13, 2024
Scott Foley, purveyor of dust


ROUTES-cast October 13, 2024

- Hayes & the Heathens, "Water From the Holy Grail" Hayes & the Heathens  (BoH, 24)
- JD Clayton, "Let You Down" single  (Rounder, 24)  D
- Kasey Chambers, "Something To Believe In" Backbone  (Essence, 24)
- Johnny Irion, "Madman's Scrawl" single  (Blackwing, 24)
- Loose Cattle, "Shoals (ft Patterson Hood)" Someone's Monster  (Single Lock, Nov 1)
- Ric Robertson, "Choices and Chains (ft Sierra Ferrell)" Choices and Chains  (Mandocrope, Oct 18)
- Teddy & the Rough Riders, "Love After Life" Down Home  (Appalachia, 24)
- Wyatt Flores, "Little Town" Welcome To the Plains  (Island, Oct 18)
- Dwight Yoakam, "Wide Open Heart" Brighter Days  (Via, Nov 15)
^ Flatland Cavalry, "Three Car Garage" Flatland Forever  (Interscope, Nov 8)  D
- Bailey Bigger, "Witches and Warlocks" Resurrection Fern  (Madjack, Oct 25)
- Taylor Hollingsworth, "Tommy Was a Rich Kid" Yahola  (Dial Back Sound, 24)
- William Harries Graham, "Philadelphia" Annie's House  (Strolling Bones, Oct 25)
- Chris Acker, "Bunn Machine" Famous Lunch  (Gar Hole, 24)
- Hearts Of Oak, "Exile On Repeat" Valley Of Dark Hills  (Deer Lodge, 224)
- White Denim, "Second Dimension" 12  (Bella Union, Dec 6)
- Current Joys, "California Rain" Easy My Love  (Secretly Canadian, 24)
- Rose City Band, "Lights On the Way" Sol y Sombra  (Thrill Jockey, Jan 24)  D
- Silverites, "Don't Go Don't Stay" Silverites  (Sunyata, Nov 15)  D
- Hard Quartet, "Heel Highway" Hard Quartet  (Matador, 24)
- Coward Brothers, "Always" Coward Brothers  (New West, Nov 21)  D
- Shovel Dance Collective, "Rolling Wave" Shovel Dance Collective  (American Dreams, 24)
- Tucker Zimmerman, "They Don't Say (But It's True) (ft Big Thief)" Dance Of Love  (4AD, 24)
- Yasmin Williams, "Cliffwalk (ft Dom Flemons)" Acadia  (Nonesuch, 24)
- Marcus King, "8am (live)" Live From the Bluebird Cafe EP  (American, 24)  D
- Erisy Watt, "Rest" neither either or but everything  (Watt, 24)
- Caroline Says, "Dust" The Lucky One  (Western Vinyl, 24)  D
- Penny & Sparrow, "Cheers To Good Friends" Lefty  (I Love You, Jan 31)
- Ron Pope, "Mama Drove a Mustang" American Man American Music (Brooklyn Basement, Feb 14)  D
- Hayes Carll & Allison Moorer, "Sing Me Back Home" Better Than Prison  (Believe, 24)

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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:


Thursday, October 10, 2024

ROUTES & BRANCHES GUiDE to FEEDiNG YOUR MONSTER (October 10, 2024)

A ROUTES & BRANCHES GUiDE to FEEDiNG YOUR MONSTER
good news about good noise
October 10, 2024
Scott Foley, purveyor of dust

Just a note of orientation to start things off. We'll be off the proverbial grid for a couple days going forward, so will likely not be publishing our usual Friday or Monday Episode. We'll be prioritizing our ROUTES-cast, which will hit newsstands on Sunday like always. And we'll be back with a full-length review on Tuesday, October 15. 

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If you've been keeping your hurricane scorecard up-to-date, you're aware of the recent devastation in parts of the American Southeast. A lot of artists have found ways of donating proceeds from concerts and albums to the recovery cause. We'd like to point out a new 136-sound collection available thru Bandcamp called Cardinals At the Window: A Benefit For Flood Relief In Western North Carolina. In addition to serving a higher purpose, the compilation features new stuff from folks like Lydia Loveless, Water Liars, MJ Lenderman and so very (very) many more. 

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Wild Pink's new Dulling the Horns has been among our favorite recent releases. Frontguy John Ross has appeared here and there by way of promoting the project. Check out Beats Per Minute for an interview, and Brooklyn Vegan for an interesting report on 10 Songs He's Listened To Over 100 Times

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World Cafe checks in with American Aquarium singer and songwriter BJ Barham for a couple songs and some meaningful chat about the band's Fear Of Standing Still

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Tim Heidecker's Slipping Away will be coming our way next Friday. In the event you were wondering about his feelings about concept albums, swing by Consequence Of Sound as he recommends ten worthy concept albums. 

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Acadia, the new album from guitarist Yasmin Williams, has received copious praise since its release last week. Case in point, the Guardian devotes some digital ink to a story about how she honed her craft by devoting valuable time to Guitar Hero. 

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We recently announced plans for a generous reissue package for Elvis Costello's classic King Of America record, produced by T Bone Burnett. Never one to rest on good enough, Costello has announced a new TV and recording project with Burnett beneath their Coward Brothers moniker. Please find out more at Variety

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We started sharing songs on our last ROUTES-cast from the Better Than Jail compilation, a benefit for criminal justice reform (Specifically thru Equal Justice USA and Free Hearts). The collection features artists covering iconic prison songs, including stuff from Steve Earle, Margo Price, Bonnie Raitt and more. Check out the piece published by Relix for more info, as well as links to the charities. 

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We don't link to enough People magazine articles. By way of rectifying that error, follow the link for a quick piece focusing on the newly released project from Hayes & the Heathens

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Holler Country debuts a new song from singer-songwriter Ron Pope, and announces plans for a February album release.

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Wrapping things up for this Episode, we'll mention a couple forthcoming records we've added to A Routes & Branches Guide To Feeding Your Monster, our neurotically-updated release calendar. Flatland Cavalry are celebrating their tenth anniversary with a retrospective. Flatland Forever will offer the hits, some rarities, and at least one new studio cut (Nov 8). Per our mention above, Elvis Costello and T Bone Burnett will be sharing a new project under their Coward Brothers alias. Coward Brothers will be available for your Thanksgiving listening via New West (Nov 21). John R Miller and Rounder Records are celebrating the one-year anniversary of Miller's Heat Comes Down with a new seven-inch vinyl. Wayward Wind will feature two new songs from the sessions (Rounder, Dec 13). The prolific Rose City Band will herald the New Year with another new LP. Thrill Jockey has announced the forthcoming Sol y Sombra for a January 24 release. Finally, also as mentioned above, Ron Pope has plans of his own for 2025. American Man American Music will drop February 14 on his own Brooklyn Basement label. 

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Wednesday, October 09, 2024

LOOKBACK MACHiNE: RECKLESS KELLY

ROUTES & BRANCHES
featuring the very best of americana, alt.country and roots music
October 9, 2024
Scott Foley, purveyor of dust

Reckless Kelly has served as a pillar for our kind of music for nearly thirty years, since brothers Willy and Cody Braun made their way from Idaho to Bend, Oregon, and down to Austin where they settled. With contributions to americana, country, and Texas/red dirt rock, they have maintained a constant presence, and have continued to create consistently excellent music, up to and including last month's ominously titled Last Frontier. As a couple excellent live records have documented, they are notoriously strong performers, though the band's website promises Reckless Kelly will step down from traditional touring by the end of next year. During their time, the Brauns have also earned a reputation for delivering some of the most melodic roots music available, as attested by our playlist below which is riddled with hooks. Like Old 97s on whom we focused our Lookback Machine a couple weeks ago, Reckless Kelly remind listeners of the real potential for popular appeal in roots music. 


RECKLESS KELLY: thirty favorites

- "Walton Love" Millican  (Cold Spring, Jul 98)
- "Back Around" Millican
- "I Still Do" Millican
- "Hey Say May" Millican
- "Drink Your Whiskey Down" Millican
- "Baby's Gone Blues" Millican
- "Wild Western Windblown Band" Millican (20th Anniversary)
- "Eight More Miles" Acoustic: Live At Stubbs  (Valley, Jun 00)
- "Lonely All the Time" The Day  (Valley, Oct 00)
- "Walk Out Now" The Day
- "Crazy Eddie's Last Hurrah" The Day
- "Let's Just Fall" Under the Table and Above the Sun  (Sugar Hill, May 03)
- "Nobody's Girl" Under the Table and Above the Sun
- "Desolation Angels" Under the Table and Above the Sun
- "Vancouver" Under the Table and Above the Sun
- "Wicked Twisted Road" Wicked Twisted Road  (Sugar Hill, Feb 05)
- "Motel Cowboy Show" Wicked Twisted Road
- "Ragged As the Road" Bulletproof  (Yep Roc, Jun 08)
- "Love In Her Eyes" Bulletproof
- "American Blood" Bulletproof
- "Weatherbeaten Soul" Good Luck & True Love  (No Big Deal, Sep 11)
- "Good Luck & True Love" Good Luck & True Love
- "Idaho" Long Night Moon  (No Big Deal, Sep 13)
- "How Can You Love Him (You Don't Even Like Him)" Sunset Motel  (No Big Deal, Sep 16)
- "Moment In the Sun" Sunset Motel
- "Thinkin' 'Bout You All Night" American Jackpot/American Girls  (No Big Deal, May 20)
- "I Only See You With My Eyes Closed" American Jackpot/American Girls  
- "Lonesome On My Own" American Jackpot/American Girls 
- "Keep Lookin' Down the Road" Last Frontier  (No Big Deal, Sep 24)
- "Last Frontier (ft Kelly Willis)" Last Frontier 

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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:


Tuesday, October 08, 2024

HEARTS of OAK - VALLEY of DARK HiLLS

ROUTES & BRANCHES
featuring the very best of americana, alt.country and roots music
October 8, 2024
Scott Foley, purveyor of dust

Maybe you're looking for a twelve-minute instrumental to soundtrack your next walk through the fog-shrouded fall forests of the Pacific Northwest. Perhaps you'd prefer something appropriately ambient, maybe with pedal steel, droning keyboards, with distantly thundering percussion. Three-quarters of the way through Hearts Of Oak's sprawling Valley Of Dark Hills, the loose ensemble features just the thing, a shambling piece that might soundtrack a scene from a yet-unmade Cormac McCarthy film. The synth on "Infinite Horizon" is wielded by Aron Christenson, the Portland outfit's usual bassist. In a dark turn of events, Christenson was found nearby a Washington forest trail, alongside his dog, both with bullet wounds. While some details have been gathered since the episode, the murder remains troublingly unresolved by local authorities. 

That's the unsettling setting for Valley Of Dark Hills, the fifth project from Portland's Hearts Of Oak, an affiliation of players gathered by singer-songwriter Nate Wallace, guitarist Ezra Meredith and associates. The sessions began during the pandemic, recorded live on reel-to-reel tape with members and contributors coming and going. While the eventual double-album doesn't directly tell the story of Christenson's homicide, the songs were largely created in the wake of the event, bearing an appropriate weight and spirit, from a punk-roots cover of a song from Portland's legendary Dead Moon to these more atmospheric alt.country pieces. 

More than ten years ago, we wrote in praise of Hearts Of Oak's New England collection, the third in their five releases of outsider shoegaze country, characterized by Ezra Meredith's thick-set electric guitar, Barry Walker Jr's dusty pedal steel, and Nate Wallace's creaking vocal delivery. Of course, we found the whole noisy package wonderful, the sort of truly alt stuff that has been tough to track down since the early days of the loosely-defined subgenre. The act's seventy-five monthly Spotify listeners can probably attest to both the authenticity and the acquired nature of Hearts Of Oak's oeuvre, but they'd/we'd undoubtedly swear by it as well. 

Valley is introduced with the Exile-inspired "A River Why", with slippery guitars and the rare inclusion of horns. Nate Wallace recites his lyrics in a half-spoken, half-sun style, with the simple guitar line intoning behind him. Another of the collection's most engaging songs, "Oklahoma" includes organ and slide guitar for a terrifically sloppy 70s country-rocker. Both "Bandits" and "Boat" favor sharp twin guitars, alternately murmuring, chiming, and fuzzing. 

Over sixteen tracks and two LPs, Hearts Of Oak include a handful of carefully chosen covers, none of which would be familiar to most listeners. With Meredith's muscular lead, "Spectacle", their Dark Moon tribute, is a perfect punk-forward garage nugget. "Dearly Departed", a little-known cut from the late Mike 'Reno' Lund's Drugstore Cowboy outfit, launches an extended guitar barrage and sorrowful synth strings. Valley Of Dark Hills closes with a live two-song recitation from a rare Meredith Brothers Band record, landing like another early alt.country throwback from a day when punk and country weren't as disparate. 

Amidst all the weightiness and the noise, Nate Wallace drops a handful of beautifully fractured folk cuts, songs that emphasize the Dylan in his delivery. "Wearisome Traveler" recalls Time Out Of Mind-era Dylan in its nod to 60s folk and spare piano accompaniment. Backing vocalist Sarah Gwen trades lead on "We're Both Wild", and "Exile On Repeat" is another quieter number featuring Walker's steel. See also "Nothing To Do But Plow", which leans into 70s country-soul. 

On Valley Of Dark Hills, Hearts Of Oak have created a stormy album in the wake of unimaginable circumstances. While the band cleaves closer to their country roots, their overcast spirit resembles Jason Molina's Crazy Horse-inspired records with Magnolia Electric Co. Released on Portland's Deer Lodge, a selective label run by Ezra Meredith, they face an uphill battle to disseminate their worthy music far beyond their immediate Northwest environs. That said, Hearts Of Oak fulfill a need for a strain of alt.country that is hinted at by Trummors, SUSS, or the late Richmond Fontaine, something that merits listening from a wider audience that surely exists. We'll accept the challenge of raising Hearts' Spotify listener base into triple digits. 

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Monday, October 07, 2024

TRAiPSiNG THRU the AiSLES: add these to your basket (October 7, 2024)

TRAiPSiNG THRU the AiSLES: add these to your basket
October 7, 2024
Scott Foley, purveyor of dust


Kasey Chambers, Backbone  (Essence, Oct 4)
The Australian songwriter and instrumentalist has linked her thirteenth studio LP to a book-length memoir set for release later in the month. Kasey Chambers' music has always been rooted in her native country and sometimes in her own story, but never to this extent. "Backbone (The Desert Child)" speaks to her Southern Australian youth, one of several cuts augmented by country fiddle: At night the words were spoken / Will the circle be unbroken / And the voice went higher from the family choir. "Silverado Girl" and "Arlo" tell of her own children, loving stories owning up to her parenting missteps and challenges. Chambers wrote Backbone in its entirety, with frequent collaborator Brandon Dodd supporting on a couple tracks. While country music serves as the stylistic compass for the majority of the songs, she has brought a definite gospel influence to others. "New Day Has Come" is an uplifting declaration of devotion, featuring pedal steel and a repeated affirmation that Everything's gonna be alright. Kasey Chambers' distinct voice has served as her calling card since her 1999 debut, and Backbone demonstrates how her instrument has aged masterfully. We'll sing hallelujah / Until it hurts she testifies on "For Better Or Worse", swelling from an acoustic ballad to an anthem with slide guitar and organ, Chambers evoking Emmylou Harris. The variety of her new collection is impressive, from the lighthearted contemporary country of "Love Like Springsteen" to the drunken romp of "Divorce Song", co-written and sung with her former husband and recording partner Shane Nicholson: Maybe we did it all wrong / Kinda fucked everything up ... We couldn't survive as the marrying kind / But we do divorce pretty good. The soulful "Something To Believe In" could be a show stopper, with its own strong helping of electric guitar. While she has been reliably prolific since the start, Kasey Chambers' past couple projects haven't received their due attention. The inclusion here of an unexpected live eight-minute cover of Eminem's "Lose Yourself" should serve as a reminder of her talent and range. We're fortunate that a fan-shot video of the 2022 Newcastle performance is available, where her band's fiery accompaniment can be appreciated, not to mention Chambers' own transcendent delivery (there is absolutely no reason it should work so well). As a songwriter, a vocalist, and a performer, Kasey Chambers deserves a place in the conversation about the most worthy in our kind of music, and Backbone proves she's not quite ready to settle into her place as just another legacy artist. 

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Erisy Watt, not either or but everything  (Watt, Oct 4)
Much of the perspective and the introspection on Erisy Watt's third album can be traced back to her day job as an environmental scientist. In that guise, the LA artist has traveled the country and the world, fostering an appreciation for the tentative fabric between our interior life and the teeming lives around us (I'm always where I'm going / I'm always where I've been, she sings). Produced by Luke Temple who also covers bass, keys, and backing vocals, not either or reflects that balance, overlaying Watt's acoustic indie folk with electric, sometimes otherworldly guitars and studio sounds. Will Graefe's guitars drone on "Anywhere With You", both gauzy and grounded as Watt sings of The energy / The entropy / The dishes in the kitchen sink. "Say It Louder" takes on a country lilt, with pedal steel and the singer's acoustic strum accompanying her introspection: How I unravel / Tugging at the seams where the fabric is fragile / God damn I want to believe, but I'm a doubter. Erisy Watt's songs are most engaging when she and Temple add a touch of relative complexity to their arrangements. "Rest" takes an angular approach a'la Fiona Apple, as the songwriter recalls the lessons she was taught coming of age - cupping a baby bird, fingering chords on a guitar. "Start Again" is upbeat, with a melodic vocal on the chorus rubbing shoulders against the later feedback and squeal. On not either or but everything, Watt demonstrates smart lyrical insight on songs like "Tried To Say", and takes a more poetic approach on the lovely "Sandhill Crane": No sound from my mouth / Will sum up the worth / Of the sandhill crane / The rain on the roof / Or the call to prayer. Since her last record, the songwriter relocated from Portland (It's winter in Portland / And the gray grows like mold), and listeners may hear similarities to Rose City stalwarts like Haley Heynderickx or Anna Tivel in Erisy Watt's artistry. Consider adding conservationist/poet Rachel Carson to the list, honored here with "Rachel". Like the trailblazing scientist and artist, not either or but everything strikes out on its own, providing a glimpse through far away places into the psyche of a young songwriter: Is it in the edges or the exchange / The tangle of tributaries / Mixing on the floodplain

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Sunday, October 06, 2024

ROUTES-cast October 6, 2024

ROUTES & BRANCHES
featuring the very best of americana, alt.country and roots music
October 6, 2024
Scott Foley, purveyor of dust



ROUTES-cast October 6, 2024

- Leon Bridges, "Panther City" Leon  (Columbia, 24)
- Thee Sacred Souls, "My Heart Is Drowning" Got a Story To Tell  (Daptone, 24)
- Black Keys, "Mi Tormenta (ft DannyLux)" Ohio Players (Trophy Edition)  (Nonesuch, Nov 15)  D
- Wild Pink, "Catholic Dracula" Dulling the Horns  (Fire Talk, 24)
- Hunger Anthem, "Patron" Lift  (Cornelius Chapel, Dec 6)  D
- Hard Quartet, "Jacked Existence" Hard Quartet  (Matador, 24)
- Cracker, "Sick Of Goodbyes (ft Drive-by Truckers)" Alternative History: Cracker Retrospective  (Cooking Vinyl, Nov 22)  D
- Hearts Of Oak, "Oklahoma" Valley Of Dark Hills  (Deer Lodge, 24)
- Lucinda Williams, "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" Sings the Beatles From Abbey Road  (Hwy 20, Dec 6)  D
- Jason Isbell & 400 Unit, "Room At the Top (live)" Live From the Ryman Vol 2  (Southeastern, 24)
- Jeremie Albino, "So Many Ways To Say I Love You" One Time In the Sun  (Concord, Nov 1)
- Kathleen Edwards, "Human Touch (ft Bahamas)" single  (Dualtone, 24)  D
^ Hayes & the Heathens, "Adeline" Hayes & the Heathens  (BoH, 24)
- Waxahatchee, "Much Ado About Nothing" single  (Anti, 24)  D
- Peter Bruntnell, "Houdini and the Sucker Punch" Houdini and the Sucker Punch  (Domestico, 24)
- Mindy Smith, "Every Once In a While" Quiet Town  (Compass, 24)
- Tyler Halverson, "Nobody's Everything" Western Amerijuana Pt 2  (Atlantic, Oct 25)
- Kasey Chambers, "Love Like Springsteen" Backbone  (Essence, 24)
- Silverada, "I Made the Prison Band" Better Than Jail  (Believe, 24)  D
- Lone Justice, "You Possess Me" Viva Lone Justice  (AFAR, Oct 25)
- Erisy Watt, "Start Again" not either or but everything  (Watt, 24)
- Benjamin Tod, "Mary Could You" Shooting Star  (Tod, Oct 18)
- Joan Shelly, "Seven Steps" Mood Ring EP  (No Quarter, 24)
- Darrin Bradbury, "Time Pushed Jim" Freeman's TV Repair Shop  (Like You Mean It, 24)  D
- Faye Webster, "After the First Kiss" single  (Secretly Canadian, 24)  D
- Chris Acker, "Stubborn Eyes" Famous Lunch  (Gar Hole, Oct 11)
- Madi Diaz, "Worst Case Scenario" Weird Faith (Deluxe)  (Anti, Oct 25)  D
- Nap Eyes, "Dark Mystery Enigma Bird" Neon Gate  (Paradise Of Bachelors, Oct 18)
- Weather Station, "Neon Signs" Humanhood  (Fat Possum, Jan 17)  D
- Caitlyn Smith, "Life Right Now" single  (Smith, 24)  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:


Friday, October 04, 2024

WHAT's SO GREAT ABOUT THiS WEEK?!! (October 4, 2024)

ROUTES & BRANCHES
featuring the very best of americana, alt.country and roots music
October 4, 2024
Scott Foley, purveyor of dust


WHAT's SO GREAT ABOUT THiS WEEK?!!



Waxahatchee, "Much Ado About Nothing" single  (Anti, Oct 1)
At this point, it's a foregone conclusion that Waxahatchee's March Tigers Blood will be high on a bunch of year-end lists. It's just a matter of how high. And ahead of or behind MC Lenderman? Katie Crutchfield shares this new track, perhaps as an encouragement and a reminder that Waxahatchee walks that indie/country line as well as anyone nowadays. And hey, MC Lenderman plays guitar on "Much Ado", so it's a win-win.  I sweat and I swear, say a prayer, stare at a picture, it's visceral / And it's crushing

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Hunger Anthem, "Patron" Lift  (Cornelius Chapel, Dec 6)
Sometimes we're drawn to an artist for the simple fact that they're on a label we admire. Case in point with Athens, Georgia's Hunger Anthem, from their end-of-year release with the mighty Cornelius Chapel label. "Patron" is an earful of jangle guitar, sounding like a lost cut from Sugar or New Pornographers. At 2:12, it's here and gone before just as you realize how sweet it all is. So maybe just play it twice. 

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Lone Justice, "You Possess Me" Viva Lone Justice  (AFAR, Oct 25)
Lone Justice's first album in thirty-eight years delivers a bit of everything, from rarities to unreleased originals and covers (including a take on Dolly's "I Will Always Love You"), most set to tape during the sessions for Maria McKee's 1992 You Gotta Sin To Get Saved.  Guitarist Ryan Hedgecock polished the demos and ran them by McKee for their approval. The Marvin Etzioni track "You Possess Me" is a gorgeous showcase for their generational voice, backed solely by a couple string played by Tammy Rogers. 

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Kasey Chambers, "Love Like Springsteen" Backbone  (Essence, Oct 4)
We'll get to a fuller review of Kasey Chamber's first record in seven years, but for now we can enjoy this final single shared before Friday's release (and hey, don't forget her memoir, Just Don't Be a Dickhead: And Other Profound Things I've Learnt, due later this month). Featuring Sam Teskey's guitar, this simple tune drops names of Springsteen songs throughout, but succeeds on the sweetness of Chambers' delivery as opposed to getting dragged down by a potentially over-clever songwriting tactic: I wanna live out a daydream where I / Don't mind if I'm on fire ... 

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Simon Joyner, "There Will Be a Time" Coyote Butterfly  (Grapefruit, Nov 22)
Joyner's new collection is a tribute to his late son, closing with this meditation on a future where such suffering, both personal and universal, might be softened by understanding. "There Will Be a Time" is almost unbearably fragile, a hymn set to piano and acoustic fingerpicking, held aloft by a subtle drone. Joyner hasn't made his music available on the usual streaming services, aside from Bandcamp, but one always hopes he will make an exception for something like this. I dreamt a ghost, he led me to the water / And he shared the sorrows that marked his brief life / He said, 'Look for your reflection in the waves and be delivered'

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