LOOKBACK MACHiNE: Wilco

ROUTES & BRANCHES

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

October 14, 2026

Scott Foley, purveyor of dust

On last week's Lookback Machine, we declared Big Thief one of the foremast live bands of their generation. Meet Wilco. Featuring the same lineup since 2005, it's tough to name an act that has proven so consistently excellent for so many years. While they are often considered among the more experimental mainstream outfits, we could argue that Jeff Tweedy is a master pop songwriter in the direct lineage of the Beatles (esp Lennon). 

For our thirty favorites, we chose to limit our options a bit, focusing exclusively on studio tracks from Wilco's thirteen original LPs (and one EP). No apocryphal stuff. No live cuts. No Mermaid Avenue (though this playlist was largely prompted by the announcement that the band would release an even more expanded edition of their Mermaid Avenue: Complete Sessions, an essential document in our kind of music). Even in light of those restrictions, it was a challenge to pare down our list to just thirty (30) favorites, especially given our fondness for championing obscure tracks. And, given the preponderance of classic songs on Wilco's early- and mid-period projects, it pushed us to representing later records (which are really good) with just one song in many cases. 

While we have actually never featured a review of a Wilco LP,  no other band as fully represents the reach and embrace of all we try to do at R&B. 

WiLCO: thirty favorites

- "Box Full Of Letters" AM  (1995)

- "Passenger Side"

- "Outtasite (Outta Mind)" Being There  (1996)

- "Forget the Flowers" 

- "I Got You (At the End Of the Century)" 

- "Can't Stand It" Summerteeth  (1999)

- "Shot In the Arm"

- "I'm Always In Love" 

- "I Am Trying To Break Your Heart" Yankee Hotel Foxtrot  (2001)

- "Jesus Etc"

- "Ashes Of American Flags"

- "Heavy Metal Drummer"

- "Handshake Drugs"  A Ghost Is Born  (2004)

- "Theologians"

- "The Late Greats"

- "Either Way" Sky Blue Sky  (2007)

- "Impossible Germany"

- "What Light"

- "You and I" Wilco (the Album)  (2009)

- "You Never Know"

- "Whole Love"  The Whole Love  (2011)

- "Random Name Generator"  Star Wars  (2015)

- "If I Ever Was a Child" Schmilco  (2016)

- "Love Is Everywhere (Beware)"  Ode To Joy  (2019)

- "Cruel Country" Cruel Country  (2022)

- "Tired Of Taking It Out On You"

- "Falling Apart (Right Now)" 

- "Evicted"  Cousin  (2023)

- "Meant To Be"

- "Annihilation" Hot Sun Cool Shroud EP  (2024)

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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 (October 13, 2026)

ROUTES & BRANCHES

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

October 13, 2026

Scott Foley, purveyor of dust

As we mentioned this weekend, last week's release date dropped several good options onto our digital doorstep, and we honestly considered no fewer than half-a-dozen of them before settling on the choice that lent itself most readily to our embrace. 

IF YOU ONLY LiSTEN to ONE RECORD THiS WEEK

On the closing number on her sixth album, A Mile South Of Heaven (New West), Jess Williamson tells a story about "The Gem and Mineral Show". I am a tourist here, she sings, I come and I go. As she relates it, it came to her attention that Jack Antonoff really really liked her 2024 song, "Hunter". Reaching out to the uber-producer, Williamson was invited to the year's Grammy afterparty, where she rubbed sequined shoulders with a who's who of the industry (including, of course, Taylor Swift): With the queen of americana / Sipping champagne at the Chateau. At some later date, the singer was driving through Terlingua, Texas, where she stopped by a gem and mineral show, rubbing camouflaged shoulders with the locals. Upshot: Jess Williamson questioned her belonging both beneath the blinding lights of LA and in the dusty parking lot of small town Texas. 

That pivotal 2024 album, Time Ain't Accidental, was structured around the dissolution of a long term relationship, one that found her making that long trip between California and Texas. Produced by Brad Cook, the project was released following her collaboration with Katie Crutchfield (Waxahatchee) under the Plains moniker. Both records chronicled Williamson's artistic journey to devote an increasing amount of her indie-folk sound to roots music influences. Even with its programmed percussion and atmospheric textures, Time spoke clearly to this trend, and hinted both musically and thematically at the direction of her follow-up. 

Produced by Shooter Jennings, A Mile South Of Heaven presents Jess Williamson fronting a band of consummate country and roots professionals, including The Mastersons (Chris Masterson on guitar and Eleanor Whitmore on acoustic guitar and mandolin), bassist Bonnie Whitmore, Jamie Douglass on percussion, and pedal steel and dobro from John Schreffler. Musically, the collection is poised with one boot each in LA and Texas, equally literate in both expressions. The opener, "Goodbye To All That", immediately strikes this balance, placing Williamson's sweetly accented voice further forward in the mix than we'd heard to date. Inspired by Joan Didion's essay of the same name in which the author weighed her decision to leave New York for California, Williamson seems poised at the brink of her own decision: Goodbye to the dreamers, the poets and their songs / I'm afraid there's so much that I still haven't done. Schreffler's pedal steel, so central to the vibe of Mile South, speaks to expanse and distance. "Hum Of the City" adds Shooter's Hammond to the fabric, in addition to Eleanor Whitmore's sturdy fiddle and Chris Masterson's banjo: I've been running out of reasons to stay, the singer notes. 

Both Brad Cook and Shooter Jennings have established themselves as central craftsmen of the current americana sound, even as their expressions are quite different. On "Hum" and elsewhere, Jennings leans into the warmth of a live studio tone, clearly outlining the sound of each individual instrument. Williamson sings, Just play some old country music / Where they find true love / Or lose it, and come back home to everyone they missed. On "High Heels and Blue Jeans" she beckons for the simplicity of a night on the town with friends. Much of the new work is set in the cab of a truck, as portrayed on the album's jacket - if Williamson is equally uncertain about belonging in either locale, she finds her groove in the space between: Now I got a little money, there's gas in the car / And I can drive alone for days / Honey, it's an art. 

It's there in the balance that Jess Williamson decides to remain. She finds a resolution in both/and, as opposed to either/or. As we've learned across her previous work, she is well grounded in mysticism. The writer who claimed I see God in everything recognizes that belonging can rely upon perspective. although some Alice Coltrane / On the floor by the fireplace doesn't hurt. Williamson's transition from her earlier sound to the California-by-way-of-Austin of A Mile South Of Heaven seems more of a natural evolution than her friend Waxahatchee's leap into her own pickup. "Legends Die" presents a fine example of Williamson's suitability for the roots setting, so ably suggested by Jennings and his players: Bring me flowers / Pour me wine, and trust that the rest will apparently take care of itself. 

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ROUTES-cast October 11, 2026

ROUTES & BRANCHES

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

October 11, 2026

Scott Foley, purveyor of dust

Sundays are ROUTES-cast, and Tuesdays are review. But our considerations for that review begin much earlier. On a week like this, we're posed with several legit choices for IYOLtOATW. Frankly, there is an abiding temptation to reach beyond the obvious choices (Jess Williamson, Margo Cilker) to bring a new artist to your attention - thinking Cooper Kenward or Brody Price. We're also fretting good new stuff from Left Arm Tan and Tallest Man On Earth. Give us space.

For today, we bring you thirty (30) good songs from this week's offerings. You'll definitely want to visit our Spotify account and follow us. You can access our ROUTES-casts and Lookback Machine playlists either way, but formalizing our relationship is a real sign of status and commitment. 

ROUTES-cast October 11, 2026

^ Brody Price, "Waste" Leaf Miner's Daughter  (Gar Hole, 26)

- Anna McClellan, "Drank Earlier" South Of Dodge EP  (Exploding In Sound, Nov 20)  D

- Cory Branan, "What Gave Me Away" You'll Live  (Blue Elan, 26)

- Cooper Kenward, "Billy Come Back" Call Me the Knife  (Soggy Anvil, 26) 

- Left Arm Tan, "What's Left Of Me" When Tigers Smoked  (LAT, 26)

- Ben Chapman, "Saving Grace" Porch Sessions EP  (Hippie Shack, 26)  D

- Ags Connolly, "Yesterday's Man" Yesterday's Man  (SofaBurn, Oct 30)  D

- Sylvie, "Not Looking Back Anymore" New Season  (Ghostly, Nov 6)

- Jess Williamson, "Hum Of the City" A Mile South Of Heaven  (New West, 26)

- Kacy Lee Anderson, "Keep Quiet" Hello I'm Irrelevant  (Earth Libraries, Oct 23)

- Foot Ox, "Sagittariat" Topanga Canyon  (Lauren, Oct 23)

- Queen Of Jeans, "Bucks County" hard/SWEET  (Memory Music, 26)

- Small Pond, "Everything's Quiet" single  (Small Pond, 26)

- Woke County Speedway, "Reverse GB" Woke County Speedway  (Halloween On Raspberry Hill, 26)

- Twisted Teens, "Stalks" Holy Cross Tigers  (Sub Pop, Nov 6)

- Star Moles, "Born Again" single  (Dead Oceans, 26)  D

- Tallest Man On Earth, "In the Silver Wire Up the Hill" Just Beyond Endless Mountain  (Anti, 26)

- Johnny & Lillie Flynn, "Rambling Man" Beam Cottage  (Flynn, Nov 6)

- Jess Kerber, "Louisiana Song" World Is Dark But I Want It To Be Funny  (felte, Nov 6)

- Panamint, "Feather" single  (Panamint, 26)  D

- Muireann Bradley, "Last Kind Word Blues" Blackwood Pew EP  (Verve, Oct 23)

- Amble, "Church Bells" Love and All Its Wares  (Warner, Jan 29)

- Margo Cilker, "State Line" Little White Cross  (Fossil, 26)

- Sheagles, "Peaceful Easy Feeling" single  (Mae, 26)  D

- Lowest Pair, "What I Think About When I Sing About Running" single  (Delicata, 26)  D

- Liv Greene, "I Can't Know Now (demo)" Long Memory: 20 Years Of Free Dirt Records  (Free Dirt, Nov 6)

- Hour, "Sky Is Blue" Ghost Bridge  (Dear Life, 26)

- Cameron Winter, "It All Fell In the River" Live At Carnegie Hall  (Partisan, 26)  D

- Menahan Street Band, "There Before the Sun" Illusions  (Diamond West, Nov 13)

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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?!! (October 9, 2026)

ROUTES & BRANCHES

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

October 9, 2026

Scott Foley, purveyor of dust

WHAT's SO GREAT ABOUT THiS WEEK?!!

^Star Moles, "Born Again"  single  (Dead Oceans, 26)

We really didn't represent Emily Moales' Highway To Hell sufficiently upon its February release. This follow-up single arrives as the songwriter comes on board with the Dead Oceans label. Of the song, Moales notes it's a painting of real frustration, and the best way I can express that feeling is with a strong voice and words that mythologize. I wouldn't say I'm religious, but I think sometimes my emotions are. 

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Anna McClellan, "Drank Earlier" South Of Dodge EP  (Exploding In Sound, Nov 20)

Originally from Nebraska, McClellan provided backup vocals on Greg Freeman's remarkable new record. Now in New York, she has announced her second EP of the year - almost be easier just to assemble everything into an LP as god intended. A sweet and seemingly simple number, "Drank" features everything from a flute and low brass to a pitch perfect jangle guitar. 

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Lowest Pair, "What I Think About When I Sing About Running" single  (Delicata, 26)

The PNW duo of Kendl Winter and Palmer T Lee released Always As Young As We'll Ever Be way back in January. This new single repeats that record's title, the pair's voices weaving and twining beautifully above acoustic instrumentation that never wears out its welcome. Long as we have your attention, you might want to check out Kendl Winter's lovely 2018 Stumbler's Business. 

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Twisted Teens, "Stalks"  Holy Cross Tigers  (Sub Pop, Nov 6)

Yeah, we're not going to let this one get away. While we've featured just about every Twisted Teens single this year (and there have been plenty), that's more of a comment on the quality of the duo's prolific output as opposed to a result of our lack of imagination. Like most of their output, the video for "Stalks" hits like it was recorded off a late-night public access TV broadcast. 

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Iconic Fugues, "2025 Dream / 2025 Blues"  single  (L'Arme, 26)

Finally, it's a new project/band from Andrew Savage of Parquet Courts. Actually, it's two songs jammed together, sounding a bit like a younger Bill Callahan fronting ... well, Parquet Courts. Please watch your step as you enter the stream-of-consciousness: I recognize everything / From the coin-colored carpet / To the little room I slept in / Where I once found a scorpion / Oh its tail had a lilt / Just like a drunk with a pocketknife. 

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A ROUTES & BRANCHES GUiDE to FEEDiNG YOUR MONSTER (October 8, 2026)

A ROUTES & BRANCHES GUiDE to FEEDiNG YOUR MONSTER

good news about good noise

October 8, 2026

Scott Foley, purveyor of dust

A Routes & Branches Guide To Feeding Your Monster eliminates any excuse for being caught off-guard with any new release in our kind of music. This week we added news of the second volume of Brent Cobb's Live a Song Write a Memory series. That thing will land on shelves wherever music matters tomorrow (Ol' Buddy, Oct 9). Bay Area acoustic ensemble Crooked Jades returns with Beautiful World on October 26. You can hear their sweet take on New Order's "Temptation" on their Bandcamp camp. British traditionalist Ags Connolly will be freeing his next work in time for Halloween. Yesterday's Man is set for an October 30 release (SofaBurn). Time will tell if it's available for streaming, but we're happy to see Westelaken's In It For the Lack given a street date (Vain Mina, Nov 13). Finally, following her stint in support of Greg Freeman's new record, Anna McClellan returns with something all her own. South Of Dodge EP will be delivered by Exploding In Sound on November 20. 

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Chicago Reader boldly declares that America still needs John Prine (in case you doubted). Their thoughtful longform piece relates the legendary songwriter's story, with an eye towards his recurring jabs at The Man. 

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Ahead of Friday's release of A Mile South Of Heaven, there are several new online appreciations for Jess Williamson. F'rinstance, American Highways interviews the songwriter, who recalls hearing Dolly Parton on the radio as a youngster, and deciding she would be just like Dolly. Paste adds their voice to the tumult with a piece where Williamson chats about dividing her time between Marfa and LA, settling on Shooter Jennings to produce her new sessions, and embracing her banjo. 

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Do we need more supergroups? Turns out that yes we do. This week, Stereogum introduced us to Tommy, a project that brings together Courtney Marie Andrews, Cornelia Murr, Lola Kirke, and Katie Pearlman. No recordings just yet, but you can check out their origin story, inspired by 80s folk music. 

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As you've heard here, Elvis Costello has released a 49th Anniversary edition for his iconic My Aim Is True. The Real Elvis appears on Amoeba's What's In My Bag, providing some great insight into his own musical inspirations and distractions. These weekly things can be very hit-and-miss, but Costello's contribution is thoughtful and revealing. 

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While everything is definitely not right with the world, we took one step in the right direction this week with the first full-scale reunion of Drive-by Truckers and Jason Isbell. JamBase provides details about their Shoalsfest appearance, performing Decoration Day in its entirety. The piece includes a handful of great videos, in addition to the ensemble's take on "Rockin' In the Free World". 

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We've featured plenty of pieces lately on the reconvening of Alabama Shakes. Here is one more. DIYmag visits with Brittany Howard, who shares about waiting for Prince to appear on stage for his planned guitar solo, how plans for an EP blossomed into a proper LP, and Why data centers?

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Our Tuesday appreciation of Greg Freeman's All Set the Bone is still warm. And yet there's more. Our Culture devotes their artist spotlight to him. In addition to including the word bleaken, the interview includes info on the transient nature of Freeman's new project, writing songs about current events without being corny or cheesy, and soundtracking a long drive across the desert Southwest with so much MF DOOM and older hip hop. 

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Are we ready for Friday's new live Cameron Winter album? Then how about the forthcoming documentary from Paul Thomas Anderson? Winter bears his soul, talking to Vulture about the experience: Having Paul close up like he was, I was able to watch his nostrils flare, left-right, left-right, like lights at a train crossing ...

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Americana Podcast: the 51st State features a tet-a-tet between Hayes Carll and Robert Earl Keen. We're hoping Mr Earl Keen doesn't give up his day job, even as the thing relaxes into more of an informal chat, like we like. Hayes delivers a progress report about new recordings with Band of Heathens, a collection of duets, and a project with Corb Lund and John Evans called The Ego Brothers. 

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LOOKBACK MACHiNE: Big Thief

ROUTES & BRANCHES

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

October 7, 2026

Scott Foley, purveyor of dust

We had the great privilege to witness Big Thief Tuesday evening at Red Rocks. Adrianne Lenker, Buck Meek, and James Krivchenia have grown into one of the most transcendent live acts in our kind of music. At last night's performance they were joined by Iris Dement and Bill Frisell, artists who reportedly contribute to Big Thief's pending triple LP, Horsepower. No release date has been announced for what will surely launch the band to new levels of appreciation. The handful of tracks from the project that were included in the Red Rocks show hinted at more direct writing and songs that skewed in a country direction. 

For this week's Lookback Machine, we've included a handful of numbers from Adrianne Lenker's solo stuff (noted in the playlist as AL). While both Krivchenia and Buck Meek maintain side projects as well, Big Thief is arguably first and foremost a vehicle for Lenker's artistic vision. While the band, including bassist Justin Felton, are essential to their captivating performance, she is a riveting stage presence and an increasingly arresting guitarist. 

Of course, we'll make some appropriate noise as soon as we have additional news and advance singles. For today, you could do much worse than to stream our Spotify playlist on repeat. 

BiG THiEF: thirty favorites

- "Steamboat" Hours Were the Birds (AL)  (2014)

- "A Love Of Some Kind"

- "Indiana"  a-sides and besides (AL)  (2014)

- "Angels"

- "Masterpiece" Masterpiece  (2016)

- "Vegas"

- "Real Love"

- "Shark Smile" Capacity  (2017)

- "Mythological Beauty" 

- "Mary"

- "Symbol" abysskiss (AL)  (2018)

- "UFOF" UFOF  (2019)

- "Cattails"

- "Forgotten Eyes" Two Hands  (2019)

- "Not"

- "Two Reverse" Song (AL)  (2020)

- "Anything"

- "Not a Lot Just Forever" 

- "Change" Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You  (2022)

- "Certainty"

- "Little Things"

- "Red Moon"

- "Simulation Swarm"

- "Sadness As a Gift" Bright Future (AL)  (2024)

- "Free Treasure"

- "Vampire Empire"

- "Born For Loving You" single  (2023)

- "Incomprehensible" Double Infinity  (2025)

- "Los Angeles"

- "All Night All Day"

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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 (October 6, 2026)

ROUTES & BRANCHES

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

October 6, 2026

Scott Foley, purveyor of dust

IF YOU ONLY LiSTEN to ONE RECORD THiS WEEK

The way Greg Freeman tells it, he wasn't really expecting much attention for his 2022 LP, I Looked Out. A slow but steady parade of appreciation led to the album's 2024 reissue on the Transgressive label. His follow-up, Burnover, showed a careful attempt to gather the pieces of his frayed artistry for popular consumption, in case anyone was listening. The Vermont songwriter was being saddled with the mantle of This Week's Jason Molina, likened to the red-hot MJ Lenderman. In interviews, Freeman demonstrated a penchant for self-effacement and humility: I'm not a particularly interesting person. 

And yet, the masses disagreed, finding charm in his unkempt sound. Early reviews of Greg Freeman's third project, All Set the Bone, are already advancing it for year-end consideration. The thirteen-song collection charges between his most radio-ready work and his most experimental efforts, all of which indicates an increased confidence and a more deliberate artistic direction. Freeman dares listeners to remain atop of changing time signatures, discordant vocals, and lyrics sparking doubt and distrust. The seven-plus minute "Marooned" is fractured into divergent movements, ranging from unexpectedly moving to pummeling guitars: Do you feel your world will shatter at the slightest touch. The electric guitars on "Culture" stomp and scratch atonally, until they're tamed and corralled by horns, Freeman declaring, Blood from a stone / A vacant soul / No culture / And no more rock 'n roll. 

All Set the Bone frees much of what was kept in check on Burnover, giving way to clatter and clamor. Even the set's quieter pieces ("Hail Mary", "Bury Me the Shovel") can seem restless and unsteady. Greg Freeman continues to include piano and horns into his arrangements, which often serve as a compass for listeners who threaten to lose their bearing. The captivating "Bury Me" recalls early Felice Brothers or Bright Eyes' more rambling sessions, including fiddle and banjo alongside a trumpet: Who's Up there shaking this cracked snow globe? "Costs" flirts with a playfulness and (dare we say it) soul, the piano and keys lending to the song's late-night barroom vibe: This life works like a palindrome / You're spit out or spitting up into the great unknown. 

And it's all beautiful. Bruised and vulnerable beneath its occasional guitar-hero residue, Freeman's lyrics unfailingly human, both wider-ranging and more grounded than Molina while keeping hold of the late artist's haunted imagery. On "Next To Nothing": They'll stick you in the streets to fill up pot holes / And cut down state crucifixions from telephone poles / It's not the end of the world / But it sure as hell might be the end of yours. But Freeman is pure, howling heart on All Set the Bone, and moments like "Cahokia" and "Indu" masterfully trade heartbreak for a more major key appeal. The singer urges his vocal beyond its breaking point: All I want to do is look at you / Looking at me with the moonlight in your eyes. Dealing with demons elsewhere allows him room for this kind of heartfelt expression without compromise. "Loser's Prize" builds its Southern rock on urgent piano: When I'm alone I can be anyone / But when I'm with you, I'm me. The sentiment is hard-earned. 

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