ROUTES-cast April 19, 2026

ROUTES & BRANCHES

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

April 19, 2026

Scott Foley, purveyor of dust 

We're hoping your Record Store Day proved rewarding, for those who celebrate. If you're still on the hunt for good new music, you could reach back to last week's creative indie/folk release by My New Band Believe. We confidently stand behind this week's new projects from Benjamin Tod and Vincent Neil Emerson, one of our strongest country writers. See also, the reissue of A Derby Spiritual by Rick Alverson and his act Drunk, first produced in 1996 as Jagjaguwar's very second LP. 

IF YOU ONLY LiSTEN to ONE RECORD THiS WEEK

Chris Grigoroff and Joe Adducci didn't intend to allow thirty years to pass before releasing the seventh Souled American record. As the act's core, the duo had begun in 1988 creating albums that were referencing alt.country before it was even a thing. The British-based Rough Trade label signed Souled American and Lucinda Williams as their first two American artists. You can mine the band's history on a very welcome retrospective assembled last year by Omnivore, Rise Above It.  

Quite a bit can change in thirty years, and on Grigoroff and Adducci's new collection, Sanctions (Jealous Butcher), Souled American's already unique sound displays the creaks and sighs of age. Another writer called the band's roots-informed slowcore, a study in resonance, echo, and disintegration. Songwriting credits are evenly divided, as are vocals and instruments, though Grigoroff tends to handle guitar duties, with Adducci on bass. Nothing on Sanctions progresses beyond a mosey pace, with vocals drawn out and arrangements informal and approximate. 

Long overlooked by the general listening public but enthusiastically embraced by their rabid converts, Souled American's new sessions are unlikely to earn new evangelists. Like Giant Sand or Califone, their work can be challenging but beautiful. New songs like "Stranger" and "Freeing Wheels" will fit snugly beside earlier hits, and "Bad To Be Good" is dangerously almost a bop. But Souled American's output helps illuminate a dusty corner of old weird americana. 

ROUTES-cast April 19, 2-26

^ Souled American, "Bad To Be Good" Sanctions  (Jealous Butcher, 26)

- Waterspouts, "Train Dreams" single  (Approaching Perfection, 26)

- Vandoliers, "Girl On the Run" single  (Break Maiden, 26)  D

- Angela Autumn, "Trampstamp" single  (Cacti Omen, 26)  D

- Vincent Neil Emerson, "Angeline" Blue Stars  (LaHonda, 26)

- Kacey Musgraves, "Middle Of Nowhere" Middle Of Nowhere  (Lost Highway, May 1)

- Benjamin Tod, "Bottle's Gone" Vengeance and Grace  (Tod, 26)

- Ashley McBryde, "Lines In the Carpet" Wild  (Warner, May 8)

- Ben Chapman, "Out In the Country" Feet On the Fire  (Hippie Shack, May 22)

- Emily Nenni, "What Have I Done Wrong" Movin' Shoes  (New West, May 1)

- Whitehorse, "Bullet In the Chamber" All I Want Is All Of It  (Six Shooter, May 8)

- Rodney Crowell, "Are You One Of Us (ft Guy Clark)" Then Again  (New West, Jun 26)  D

- Bella White, "Pink Living Room" Sign In the Weather  (Rounder, Jun 12)

- Breakfield, "Pull Some Strings" Breakfield  (Rounder, Jun 12)

- Andrew Sa, "Under You" American Rough  (Bloodshot, Jun 26)

- SG Goodman, "Pepper" single  (Slough Water, 26)  D

- Caleb Elliott, "Dead Ringer" single  (Single Lock, 26)

- Sam Blasucci, "SSTAR" Physical Dream  (Calico, 26)

- Rosali, "Other Side" single  (Merge, 26)  D

- Kevin Morby, "Badlands (ft Amelia Meath, Justin Vernon)" Little Wide Open  (Dead Oceans, May 15)

- Daughn Gibson, "Cocoa Beach" Lake Mary Not Mysterious  (El Ed Eb, May 8)

- I'm With Her, "Lord Lead Me On" Sing Me Alive  (Rounder, 26)

- Natalie Wildgoose, "Sibyl" Rural Hours EP  (state51, 26)

- Aaron Lee Tasjan, "Lost and Alone" Get Over It Underdog  (Blue Elan, Jul 17)

- Shakey Graves, "On My Own" Fondness Etc  (Dualtone, May 15)

- Gregory Alan Isakov & Sylvan Esso, "Fade Into You" single  (Suitcase Town, 26)  D

- Touch Girl Apple Blossom, "I'm Lucky I Found You" Graceful  (perennial, May 15)

- Will Sheff, "Funny Feeling" Extra Mile  (Solid Ghost, Jul 10)  D

- Widowspeak, "No Driver" Roses  (Captured Tracks, Jun 5)

- This Is Lorelie, "Where's Your Love Now (ft Waxahatchee)" Box For Buddy Box For Star (Super Deluxe)  (Double Double Whammy, 26)

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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:

ROUTES-cast April 12, 2026

ROUTES & BRANCHES

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

April 12, 2026

Scott Foley, purveyor of dust

We race into today faced with a load of really good singles, though not a lot of essential listening in terms of complete records. We'd recommend Cactus Lee's new project, and will draw your attention as well to the return of Kevn Kinney and  Drivin N Cryin, which features contributions from Peter Buck and Sadler Vaden. But ...

IF YOU ONLY LiSTEN to ONE RECORD THiS WEEK

Americana and alt.country music are not hard to mock. It's not tough to pretend to be a roots band. Novelty can be as rare as an album or two per season, artists who push the boundaries and surprise with their sound. There is not an inauthentic moment on Brown Horse's third full-length, Total Dive (Loose). The British alt.roots quintet are becoming invaluable, delivering haunted, hammered songs that point forward far more than they reach back. 

With our radar always working overtime, we brought Brown Horse to your attention upon the release of 2024's Reservoir, and placed last year's All the Right Weaknesses at the rarified Number 9 spot of our year-end favorites. Even in the wake of that herald, Total Dive startles as it both expands and sharpens the outfit's sonic footprint. "Sorrow Reigns" announces the record's arrival with a Sabbath-heavy burst of guitar, frontman Patrick Turner proclaiming from within a visceral vision: In the tangle of stained hands / A stranger takes his life out on another man / Just because he can. Brown Horse's sound has grown thick and claustrophobic, their lyrics crowded with animal bones and roaring pyre. 

While Turner's throaty, quaking voice is as recognizable as any other in our kind of music, Brown Horse is a true band, each of the members contributing to writing even as the final product remains impressively consistent. Special merit is owed to pedal steel and bass player Emma Tovell, who plays without quoting predecessors, her instrument defining Total Dive almost as much as Turner's delivery. Her steel embodies a bagpipe one moment and a metal guitar the next. On "Oblivion", Tovell drives the chorus alongside Rowan Braham's accordion. The same holds true for the melodic "Twisters", a highlight which demonstrates the band's ability to rein their roar into something more tuneful: Moonlight pooling in the backs of cars / Clothes drying on a wire fence. 

Brown Horse's third project in as many years never sounds rushed, but unfolds with patience and urgency. "Comeback Loading" typifies the band's lyrical care, building tunes that can be expansive and mysterious even as they plumb our collective psychic landscape: Do you find yourself thinking that there should've been more to a life that hadn't started yet. On "Heart Of the Country", Turner recalls Jason Molina's essential Magnolia Electric Co: I keep your poems in a biscuit tin / With the bones of the mice that the cat dragged in. 

Through their static and heaviosity, Brown Horse remain entirely accessible. On a recent short for Brooklyn Vegan, the members sang the praises of records that inspired Total Dive, tagging treasures by Richard Buckner, Freakwater, Molina, and others. Those influences are evident on their new collection, but in the end it is a noise entirely their own, a beautiful commotion that will doubtlessly echo into our best-of lists as we celebrate the music that defined the year: You spoke a new word that / Rhymed right with the feeling ... 

ROUTES-cast April 12, 2026

^ Brown Horse, "Comeback Loading" Total Dive  (Loose, 26)

- Thomas Dollbaum, "Coyote (ft MJ Lenderman)" Birds Of Paradise  (Dear Life, May 22)

- Alabama Shakes, "American Dream" single  (Island, 26)  D

- Deer Tick, "Everything Born" Coin-O-Matic  (ATO, Jun 5)

- Drivin N Cryin, "Crushing Flowers" Crushing Flowers  (DNC, 26)

- Limbeck, "Kooks (Are What We Are)" single  (Bearhouse, 26)  D

- Futurebirds, "Sleepless In the Cage" Far Out Country  (Dualtone, Sep 4) 

- Rose Hotel, "My Satellite" single  (Strolling Bones, 26)

- Samantha Crain, "Belly" single  (Crain, 26)  D

- River Shook, "Wildlands" single  (Blackberry River, 26)  D

- Mildred, "Pitch Boats" Fenceline  (Dog Day, Apr 24)

- Ramsey Thornton, "Dripping Coffee" I Called It!  (Gar Hole, May 15)

- Willow Avalon, "Cardinal Sin (ft Jason Isbell)" Pink Pocket Pistol  (Atlantic, Jun 26)  D

- Cactus Lee, "Lee's Dream" Lee's Dream  (Western Vinyl, 26)

- Hayes Carll & Corb Lund, "Much Too Young (To Feel This Damn Old)" single  (New West, 26)  D

- Michaela Anne, "B-Sides" These Are the Days  (Georgia June, May 8)

- SUSTO, "Hands In the Dirt" SUSTO Stringband Vol 2  (SUSTO, May 29)

- William Matheny, "Mercy Journeys" Material Witness  (Diamond Teeth, Jul 10)  D

- Tenille Townes, "Grey Like Emmylou (ft I'm With Her)" the acrobat  (Township Road, 26)

- Lily Meola, "You and I" Lucky To Be  (Nettwerk, Jul 17)  D

- Hrishikesh Hirway, "Things Change Even Now" In the Last Hour Of Light  (Keeled Scales, Apr 24)

- Allison Russell, "No Springtime (ft Joy Oladokun, Julie Williams)" single  (Fantasy, 26)  D

- Teddy Thompson, "Baby It's You" Never Be the Same  (Royal Potato Family, May 15)

- Aldous Harding, "Venus In the Zinnia" Train On the Island  (4AD, May 8)

- Josiah and the Bonnevilles, "Going Gone" As Is  (Rounder, May 8)

- Aubory Bugg, "I Think I Had Something Once" single  (Dualtone, 26)  D

- Kiki Cavazos, "Pedestal" Goodbye Blues  (Jalopy, Apr 24)

- Alex Amen, "Diamonds" Sun Of Amen  (ATO, Jun 12)

- Zoh Amba, "Another Time" Eyes Full  (Matador, Jun 5)  D

- Maisy Owen, "Dark On a Sunny Day" Dark On a Sunny Day  (Tompkins Square, May 1)  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:

ROUTES-cast April 5, 2029

ROUTES & BRANCHES

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

April 5, 2026

Scott Foley, purveyor of dust

We're longtime fans of Joe Pernice and his myriad variations, so this week's release of Sonny I Was Wrong pleases us. Speaking of eclectic journeypersons, we're pulled as well towards Wendy Eisenberg's new solo set. See also Woods' contributor John Andrews & the Yawns. 

IF YOU ONLY LiSTEN to ONE RECORD THiS WEEK

Sometimes when our attention coincides with that of the mainstream, we have to second-guess ourselves. See, for instance, the popularity of crossover acts like Flatland Cavalry, Red Clay Strays, and Turnpike Troubadours - all quality acts that have managed to attract those larger crowds. Add to this list the Droptines, whose new record, Drought Flower, has been released by the Big Loud Texas label (co-owned by Jon Randall and Miranda Lambert). Produced with Randall himself, the Texas Hill Country quintet's second full-length isn't as polished as those other success stories, but Droptines have demonstrated a similar grassroots authenticity and road-weary dedication to their craft. 

On Drought Flower, the Droptines pepper their Texas country with strong shots of heartland rock and Son Volt alt. Donny Parkinson's electric guitar powers songs like the anthemic "Tombstone", a bleeding-heart rocker that promises we'll  Leave this hole of a hometown behind. The title track adds Johnny Sheets' low tumbling drums to the fervent racket. Frontman and songwriter Conner Arthur brands it all trailer park Shakespearean, a wholehearted rush of sound that favors spit over polish. 

It's largely Arthur's voice as a singer and a writer that sets Droptines apart from the pack. On "Snowed In" he's one part Hayes Carll and another part Nathaniel Rateliff, a gruff and unmannered delivery that bridges comparison. There's a Western flair to "Town Near You", pairing him with labelmate Zandi Holup. Arthur is complemented on the acoustic "Mamaw" by Sarah Jarosz: God come collect your creation / Jesus send a chariot down. 

Songs are purposefully on the shorter side, owing to Conner Arthur's hit-it-and-quit-it philosophy of songwriting. "What Ate My Friend" clocks in at 2:15, while "Take Too Much" reduces the excess for an even leaner two minutes. Nevertheless, Droptines shoehorn plenty of melody and meaning in each song. On "Take Too Much", one of the collection's most melodic moments, Arthur sings, Brother please remind me of a time / We didn't have to think about dying so young. 

Drought Flower draws to a close with a pair of covers, including Mike McClure's red dirt classic, "Calling All Cars" and a beautiful left-field run through Magnetic Fields' "Grand Canyon", taking Stephin Merritt's song in a decidedly Nebraska-esque direction. The unlikely pair intersect at the Droptines, an outfit that's proving themselves bigger than any single genre or audience. 

ROUTES-cast April 5, 2026

^ Droptines, "Ate My Friend" Drought Flower  (Big Loud Texas, 26)

- 49 Winchester, "Slowly" Change Of Plans  (New West, May 15)

- Joshua Ray Walker, "Chasing Sunsets" Ain't Dead Yet  (East Dallas, May 29)

- Drayton Farley, "What You Gonna Do" Heavy Duty Heart  (Hargrove, 26)

- Keyland, "Pinball Machine Rodeo Queen" Knuckle Sandwich  (One Riot, May 29)  D

- Krista Shows, "Pallet" single  (Shows, 26)  D

- Builders & the Butchers, "One Winged Bird" No Tomorrow  (Badman, 26)

- Haylie Davis, "Horns Of Time" Wandering Star  (Fire, Jun 5)

- Widemouth, "No Gasoline" No Gasoline  (Urban Scandal, May 29)  D

- Rachel Brooke, "Real Pretender" This One's For You  (MAL, Apr 24)

- Sluice, "Vegas" Companion  (Mtn Laurel, 26)

- Tracey Nelson, "Hercules" Hercules  (perennial, Jun 10)  D

- Futurebirds, "Sienna Life" Far Out Country  (Dualtone, Jun 5)  D

- Eric Silverman, "New Life" Bitter Honey  (Royal Oakie, May 29)

- Jobi Riccio, "Love Of the Song" Face the Feeling  (Yep Roc, May 15)

- Yarn, "Longshot" Saturday Night Sermon  (333, Apr 24)

- Low Cut Connie, "Oh Yeah" Livin' In the USA  (Contender, Jul 3)

- Jesper Lindell, "Trying To Live My Life Without You (ft Frazey Ford)" Royal  (Brunsvik, Jun 26)  D

- Jason Eady, "Tulsa Turnaround" Tulsa Turnaround  (Old Guitar, Jun 5)  D

- Caleb Caudle, "Slow Growth" Heavy Thrill  (Handplow, Jun 5)

- Joe Pernice, "If You Go Back To California" Sonny I Was Wrong  (New West, 26)

- John Andrews & the Yawn, "Last Word" Streetsweeper  (Earth Libraries, 26)

- Wendy Eisenberg, "Will You Dare" Wendy Eisenberg  (Joyful Noise, 26)

- Maria Taylor, "Everything Is Fine (My Love)" Story's End  (Million Stars, 26)

- White Denim, "Ruby" 13  (Bella Union, Apr 24)

- Reds Pink & Purples, "Houses" Acknowledge Kindness  (Fire, Apr 24)

- Greg Mendez, "Gentle Love" Beauty Land  (Dead Oceans, May 29)

- Beth Orton, "Ground Above" single  (Partisan, 26)  D

- Waylon Payne, "Looking For a Feeling" single  (Mercury, 26)  D

- Drivin N Cryin, "Why Don't You Go Around" Crushing Flowers  (DNC, Apr 10)

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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:

ROUTES-cast March 29, 2026

ROUTES & BRANCHES

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

March 29, 2026

Scott Foley, purveyor of dust

This week brought a nice diversity of good stuff for us to choose from, including some excellent ambient roots from Sluice and a batch of sincere simplicity from Big Harp. We were also taken by Ashley Monroe's unexpected project and the return of Drayton Farley. But when it comes down to it ...

IF YOU ONLY LiSTEN to ONE RECORD THiS WEEK

From Toronto, Charlotte Cornfield calls her sixth collection a shy people love story. Hurts Like Hell follows on the heels of 2021's Highs In the Minuses and Could Have Done Anything from 2023, a pair of albums that made a case for the slyly observational songwriter as among our best. Here at R&B HQ, we remarked, Liberated from any trappings or pretense, what's left is pure heart, and called Cornfield's work with Josh Kaufman, a practice in economy of arrangement and of communication. Her songs deposit us into often awkward social circumstances, or encourage us to eavesdrop on personal moments of self-doubt and deprecation. Charlotte Cornfield could crush us with authentic emotion as readily as she could elicit a knowing smile of recognition for real people in familiar settings. 

Where those recent records presented the artist working alone, or with a very select confidant or two, Hurts Like Hell is created live in studio with a select cohort of collaborators, including producer Phil Weinrobe, Ed Kempner of Palehound, Lake Street Dive's Bridget Kearney, Adam Brisbin and guests like Buck Meek and Feist. It's also Cornfield's first project for her new label home at Merge. While the trappings have changed, the songs remain (in her own words) immediate, spacious, lyrical, true. Now a mother in a stable relationship, embraced by shining stars like Lucy Dacus, her new work can be less confessional and more in the vein of a short-storyteller. 

Charlotte Cornfield still looks and sounds like someone you might encounter alone at a corner table of your favorite coffeeshop, even if she's now friends with Feist. On "Living With It", she confesses to a past flame, I still have your number / I'll never delete it / Do you still have mine? A deceptively low-key vocalist, she lays her words casually around beats, paired with brushed guitars and an unintrusive snare. The title track introduces Brisbin's pedal steel, instrumentation that's new to Cornfield's music, adding dimension to the songs without driving them fully into country territory. Atop Buck Meek's backing vocal, Cornfield draws from another of those uncertain soical encounters: He said / You didn't give me time to answer / I didn't even need to think it over / I guess I'm just slow at responding / But I think I want what you want / I'm sorry I left you wondering. 

The tunes on Hurts Like Hell, she explains, were written from the other side of something, recognizing that what can be painful in the moment is sometimes worthwhile in the long run. With its atypically spidery electric guitar, "Lucky" gives Cornfield Temporary relief from the / Crushing weight of everything right now / Long branches stripped of their leaves. Even in her most dire moments, there is sardonic humor in these songs. On "Lost Leader" she addresses a onetime musical infatuation: I used to buy everything you released / You kept me company while I fell asleep / Now I go to hear you play tunes / And there are too many dudes in the room / I just wanna leave. In some sense, Charlotte Cornfield can resemble a hybrid between Anna Tivel's quiet voyeurism and Courtney Barnett's absurdist diarist. 

The new collection is bookended by a pair of songs, "Before" and "Bloody and Alive", the first describing her introduction to a future partner and the latter suggesting the birth of her daughter. Both feature watery, almost ambient guitar, like before and after snapshots of lives in transition. In between is music that is refreshingly original even as it's disarmingly familiar. On "Number" Cornfield observes, I feel differently about / The way snow piles up / On my doorstep now / Like a little wall. The jazz-adjacent "Long Game" is characteristically accepting, with the singer delivering what might be a self-directed mantra: More doing / Less trying. 

ROUTES-cast March 29, 2026

^ Charlotte Cornfield, "Long Game" Hurts Like Hell  (Merge, 26)

- Courtney Barnett, "Wonder" Creature Of Habit  (Mom + Pop, 26)

- Fruit Bats, "The Landfill" The Landfill  (Merge, Jun 12)  D

- Johanna Samuels, "White Limousine (ft Courtney Marie Andrews)" single  (Odd Man Out, 26)  D

- Joe Pernice, "I'd Rather Look Away (ft Norman Blake)" Sunny I Was Wrong  (New West, Apr 3)

- Alela Diane, "In My Own Time" Who's Keeping Time  (Fluff & Gravy, May 22)

- Big Harp, "Runs To Blue" Runs To Blue  (Saddle Creek, 26)

- Mikaela Davis, "Starlite Tonite" Graceland Way  (Kill Rock Stars, Apr 24)

- Ben Chapman, "Feet On Fire" Feet On Fire  (Hippie Shack, May 22)  D

- Hiss Golden Messenger, "Shaky Eyes" I'm People  (Chrysalis, May 1)

- Hanging Stars, "Glasshouse" Just a Day  (Loose, Jun 19)  D

- Luke Winslow-King, "Teacher's Desk" Coast Of Light  (Bloodshot, 26)

- Deslondes, "Moving" Don't Let It Die Vol 1  (New West, May 22)

- Styrofoam Winos, "Pearls" Any River  (Dear Life, Jun 19)  D

- Sluice, "Ratchet Strap" Companion  (Mtn Laurel, 26)

- Bicentennial Drug Lord, "Thaw" single  (vfib, 26)  D

- Palmyra, "Ribcage (demo)" Lake Louisa Sessions EP  (Oh Boy, 26)  D

- Milk Carton Kids, "I'll Go Home From Here" Lost Cause Lover Fool  (Far Cry, Apr 24)

- Tift Merritt, "Finest Feelings" Sugar  (One Riot, Jun 26)  D

- Ian Noe, "Jukebox Blues (For Blaze Foley)" single  (Lock 13, 26)  D

- Drayton Farley, "Feel Like Getting High" Heavy Duty Heart  (Hargrove, 26)

- Ryan Bingham, "Twist the Knife (ft Texas Gentlemen)" They Call Us the Lucky Ones  (Bingham, May 15)

- Ashley Monroe, "I Hate Nashville" Dear Nashville  (Mountainrose Sparrow, 26)  D

- Silverada, "Highway Man" single  (Prairie Rose, 26)  D

- Flatland Cavalry, "Bird's Eye View" Work Of Heart  (Lost Highway, 26)

- John R Miller, "If You Could Only See Me Now" single  (Rounder, 26)  D

- Marfa, "If It Ain't You" single  (Big Machine, 26)

- Brennan Wedl & Waxahatchee, "Six O'clock News" single  (Anti, 26)  D

- Squirrel Flower, "Wheels (ft Babehoven, Billie Marten)" single  (Polyvinyl, 26)  D

- Magic Tuber Stringband, "Where the Place Becomes Forgetting" Heavy Water  (Thrill Jockey, May 22)

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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:

ROUTES-cast March 22, 2026

ROUTES & BRANCHES

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

March 22, 2026

Scott Foley, purveyor of dust

This Episode brings no obvious choice for our listening recommendation, though we're Big Fans of Hurray For the Riff Raff and Danny George Wilson. Not for the first time this year, we'll also direct your ears towards Bandcamp, where you'll find a new EP from Campfire Swimmers. 

IF YOU ONLY LiSTEN to ONE RECORD THiS WEEK

We mentioned last week that we were awaiting our tardy copy of the new Johnny Blue Skies record, Mutiny After Midnight (Atlantic Outpost), currently just available in cassette, CD or LP format. The majority of press on Sturgill Simpson's second JBS album has focused on those trappings - the fact that it's unavailable for streaming, that it's reportedly his dance project, that participating record stores were encouraged to stage a dance party in celebration of its release. 

Simpson himself has called Mutiny his moment of pure, unfiltered, unapologetic, relentless disco-hedonism - an album centered firmly on groove. Of course, the marriage of funk/soul and country is nothing new, and this new JBS set decidedly recalls sounds of the 70s. Once again fronting his longtime band of brothers, here called the Dark Clouds, the project is organic, sweaty and terrifically groovy (Laur Joamets on guitar, Kevin Black on bass, Miles Miller on drums, and Robbie Crowell on keys and sax). Mutiny is also exceptionally horny.

Matter of fact, the album opens with Simpson's invocation to "Make America Fuk Again", introducing the LP's deep bass groove and incendiary electric guitar. The pop-inflected number establishes a tension between the current state of our nation, our collective and individual mental wellbeing, and enjoying sex with abandon: Been coming to terms with my obsolescence / Taking ketamine to kill my depression. The indelible "Stay On That" finds creepy Uncle Sturgill offering, Let me be the wood baby / You can be the glue ... Stay on that D / Until you hit that G. In the heyday of the PMRC, Mutiny would wear its black-and-white advisory sticker boldly. 

But the new Johnny Blue Skies project is more than Dirty Mind for the roots music crowd. Lyrically, the songs are much less cerebral than 2024's Passage du Desir, though they can be deceptively personal and even pointedly political here and there. With its runaway pace and skronky sax, "Excited Delirium" evokes recent protests: How the hell you gonna protect the peace / Running around looking like you're going to war. The hooky guitar blues of "Ain't That a Bitch" cloaks a lyric that bemoans how the poor stay poor and the rich get rich. The album's most country moment, "Don't Let Go" seems a heartfelt declaration of (heaven forbid) genuine devotion: Do you wanna see me crawl across the floor / Down on my knees. 

Sturgill Simpson has never been content to fulfill expectations from the safety of one artist lane. Mutiny After Midnight is not as blatant a departure as 2019's manga soundtrack Sound and Fury, it's simply the man and his buddies indulging their penchant for having a good time, digging deep into the boogie. The momentarily restrained bridge of "Viridescent" trips unexpectedly into an infectiously funky instrumental outro. "Everyone Is Welcome" collects the record's threads into a single cord, both topical and unapologetically sexual, making the declaration that Life is better fluid like sexuality. 

On the LP's back cover, the ship from Sailor's Guide To Earth sails the stormy seas towards a disco ball moon. Johnny Blue Skies, this band of musical pirates, is among the most capable and adventurous outfits in our kind of music, a tempestuous sea of roots and rock, funk and fusion. Sturgill Simpson sets the soundtrack as we dance into the revolution, rocking the mutiny.  In his own words, he just wants to make America not suck again. For the moment, you'll just have to purchase a cassette to join him. 

ROUTES-cast March 22, 2026

- Son Little, "Rabbit" Cityfolk  (Anti, 26)

- Mama's Gun, "Joy" DIG!  (Blue Elan, Apr 10)  D

- Danny George Wilson, "Grain Of Sand" Arcade  (Loose, 26)

- Black Keys, "Where There's Smoke There's Fire" Peaches!  (Easy Eye, May 1)

- Leah Blevins, "Leave It Up To Me" All Dressed Up  (Easy Eye, 26)

- Daughn Gibson, "Sacred Life" Lake Mary Not Mysterious  (El Ed Eb, May 8)  D

- Matthew Logan Vasquez, "Haunted" single  (MLV, 26)  D

- Red PK, "Horse Like Me (ft Free Range)" Horse Like Me  (Red PK, 26)  D

- Builders & Butchers, "Mother Mary" No Tomorrow  (Badman, Apr 3)

- Montvales, "Runaway Horse" Path Of Totality  (Free Dirt, 26)

- Ashley McBryde, "Bottle Tells Me So" Wild  (Warner, May 8)  D

- Cactus Lee, "Bad Luck" Lee's Dream  (Western Vinyl, Apr 10)

- Tenille Townes, "We Could Use a Little More" The Acrobat  (Township Road, Apr 10)

- Breakfield, "Darker Out Tonight" Breakfield  (Rounder, Jun 12)

- Wilson Springs Hotel, "Broken Doors" Day the Bloodroot Bloomed  (Ritter, 26)  D

- William Harries Graham, "Flicker Film" Belrose Motel EP  (Strolling Bones, Apr 10)  D

- Hudson Freeman & Bedroomer, "Stolen Valor" single  (Mom + Pop, 26)  D

- Aubrie Sellers, "Trigger Happy" Attachment Theory  (Carnival, 26)

- SUSTO, "Hard Drugs (ft Morgan Wade)" SUSTO Stringband Vol 2  (SUSTO, May 29)  D

- Hurray For the Riff Raff, "Pyramid Scheme (Live) "Live Forever  (Nonesuch, 26)

- John Andrews & the Yawns, "What's Good" Streetsweeper  (Earth Libraries, Apr 3)

- Hrishikesh Hirway, "Rollercoaster (ft Uwade, Fenne Lily)" In the Last Hour Of Light  (Keeled Scales, Apr 24)

- Noah Gundersen, "Die Young" Rites Of Spring  (RIP Dunes, May 22)  D

- Lily Seabird, "Demon In Me" single  (Seabird, 26)  D

- Natalie Wildgoose, "River Days" Rural Hours EP  (state51, Apr 15)  D

- White Fence, "Unread Books" Orange  (Drag City, Apr 24)

- Brown Horse, "Wreck" Total Dive  (Loose, Apr 10)

- Gladie, "I Will If You Will" No Need To Be Lonely  (Get Better, 26)  D

- M Ward, "Sympathy For the Stones (Live)" single  (MWard, 26)  D

- Terry Allen, "Down To the River" Blood Sucking Maniacs  (Paradise Of Bachelors, Apr 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:

ROUTES-cast March 15, 2026

ROUTES & BRANCHES

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

March 15, 2026

Scott Foley, purveyor of dust

We weighed the relative merits of several appealing releases this week. This included the new Johnny Blue Skies project, initially released only in physical formats. While our LP has yet to arrive, we were able to preview the collection during its momentary residency on YouTube, and would likely recommend that were we able to dig a bit deeper. Much more accessible are full-lengths from Daniel Romano & the Outift, the Jeff Tweedy-produced Cut Worms, and the dark modern folk of Ora Cogan. See also, Morgan Nagler's very good debut, I've Got Nothing To Lose and I'm Losing It. By all means, listen to that too ... 

IF YOU ONLY LiSTEN to ONE RECORD THiS WEEK

Since her 2017 full-length debut, Cat Clyde has built her artistic case, describing her stylistic reach. The Canadian singer-songwriter-guitarist gathered bits of blues and rock, country and folk, favoring sounds brought forward from the past as evidenced in her Spotify playlists. On her fourth solo project, Mud Blood Bone, Cat Clyde comes into her own as a writer who is more than a sum of those parts. 

With producer Drew Vanderburg (Faye Webster, Futurebirds, SG Goodman), Cat Clyde's new sessions support her songs with a fuller, more contemporary arrangement. "Where Is My Love" establishes an acoustic/electric strum-and-growl that typifies much of the collection, owing in part to guitarist Liam Duncan who records as Boy Golden. Cat Clyde is fierce and determined on "Man's World", a blues ramble lamenting an old-as-time gender imbalance: I can't express my woman self / Without a shield across my chest. With an elastic delivery that is as country as it is blues, Cat Clyde's voice has become her calling card. Evoking Adrianne Lenker on "Wild One", she also shares the Big Thief frontperson's penchant for embracing the sensuality of the natural world. On "Night Eyes", she sings Inside the damp earth call / With love I send it all. With its slinky Hammond B3 groove, "Hold My Hand" digs deeper: I wanna move with love in the buoyant salty ether / Let the vibration hum strike desire's hungry fever / Let it all go in surrender. 

On Mud Blood Bone, Cat Clyde ranges from the punk energy and drive of "Wanna Ride" to the revelatory croon of her piano-based "I Am Now". Like Alynda Segarra's work with Hurray For the Riff Raff, she incorporates each of these elements into her own original roots music expression. Even on the record's sole cover, Marty Robbins' "My Love", she coaxes the song into an early rock vibe without abandoning the countrypolitan air of the original. With the buy-in of the Concord label group, Cat Clyde could translate Mud Blood Bone into a well-deserved breakout project. 

ROUTES-cast March 15, 2026

^ Cat Clyde, "My Love" Mud Blood Bone  (Concord, 26)

- Morgan Nagler, "Another Mona Lisa" I've Got Nothing To Lose and I'm Losing It  (Little Operation, 26)

- Ora Cogan, "Love You Better" Hard Hearted Woman  (Sacred Bones, 26)

- Thomas Dollbaum, "Dozen Roses" Birds Of Paradise  (Dear Life, May 22)  D

- Daniel Romano & the Outfit, "Metanoia" Preservers Of the Pearl  (You've Changed, 26)

- Wendy Eisenberg, "Vanity Paradox" Wendy Eisenberg  (Joyful Noise, Apr 3)

- i26connector, "Cut My Hair" i26connector  (Haw Creek, 26)  D

- Cass McCombs & Chris Cohen, "Steel Reserve" single  (Hardly Art/Domino, 26)  D

- Deer Tick, "Mary Singletary" Coin-o-Matic  (ATO, Jun 5)  D

- Maria Taylor, "Sorry I Was Yours (ft Conor Oberst)" Story's End  (Million Stars, Apr 3) 

- Nathaniel Rateliff, "Tommy's Song" single  (Stax, 26)  D

- Allison Russell, "Rainbows" single  (Fantasy, 26)  D

- Jessica Lea Mayfield & Dolour, "Pink Triangle" Pinkerton  (Inverness, May 22)

- Kevin Morby, "Die Young" Little Wide Open  (Dead Oceans, May 15)

- Cut Worms, "Out Of Touch" Transmitter  (Jagjaguwar, 26)

- Whitehorse, "See the Light" All I Want Is All Of It  (Six Shooter, May 8)  D

- Ramsey Thornton, "Rocking" I Called It!  (Gar Hole, May 15)  D

- Flatland Cavalry, "Real Slow" Work Of Heart  (Lost Highway, Mar 27)

- Kacey Musgraves, "Dry Spell" Middle Of Nowhere  (Lost Highway, May 1)  D

- Charley Crockett, "Fastest Gun Alive" Age Of the Ram  (Island, Apr 3)

- Erin Enderlin, "Blood In the River" Songs From the Gray House EP  (Black Crow, 26)  D

- Andrew Sa, "Lavender Cowboy (ft HC McEntire)" American Rough  (Bloodshot, Jun 26)  D

- Emily Nenni, "Not a Winner" Movin' Shoes  (New West, May 1)

- Teddy Thompson, "So This Is Heartache" Never Be the Same  (Royal Potato Family, May 15)  D

- Michaela Anne, "These Are the Days" These Are the Days  (Georgia June, May 8)

- Cactus Blossoms, "Lately I've Let Things Slide" single  (Walkie Talkie, 26)  D

- Josiah & the Bonnevilles, "Mountain Girl" As Is  (Rounder, May 8)

- Kiki Cavazos, "Grey Ghost Train" Goodbye Blues  (Jalopy, Apr 24)

- Rachel Brooke, "Ballad Of Bald Hill" This One's For You  (MAL, Apr 24)

- Sweet Petunia, "Good Part" Foggy Mountain Mental Breakdown  (Righteous Babe, 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:

ROUTES-cast March 8, 2026

ROUTES & BRANCHES

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

March 8, 2026

Scott Foley, purveyor of dust

Our best options this week include a stunning assortment of "b-sides" from Anna Tivel and a step further into the limelight from Brit Taylor. You'll also want to spend some time with Natalie Jane Hill's excellent set. Still ...

IF YOU ONLY LiSTEN to ONE RECORD THiS WEEK

Deloyd Elze is the stage name of Jacob Allen, a Berklee grad from Los Angeles by way of Florida, a moniker borrowed from the artist's grandfather. This week saw the release of Deloyd Elze's second EP, Nellene, named after his grandmother. It follows on the heels of November's Horse Named Proletariat EP, both released on the Concord label. Allen refers to these as sibling projects, so we'd suggest you enjoy them side-by-side. 

Here at R&B HQ, we appreciate creatives who try new things with the familiar pieces of folk and country music. Some artists may sacrifice writing at the altar of clever production, while others will settle for no-frills songwriting sans innovative arrangement. The songs of Deloyd Elze honor both sides of the spectrum, delivering great songwriting supported by visionary production. From Horse, "High Praise" reads like Hiss Golden Messenger or Bon Iver with a deep programmed groove. "God's Cruel Joke" washes ashore on a wave of Ghost Is Born-worthy knob-twiddling, Allen muttering I'm gonna keep goin' through this intense passion and fervor til I finally plateau. 

Deloyd Elze isn't flirting with Metal Machine Music or Trans levels of experimentation on these EPs. The lovely "George Jones" features backing from Angela Autumn and fiddling by Seamus Guy, dropping familiar names in a scene of domestic bliss: If you be my Tammy Wynette / I'll be your George Jones ... Foreplay is planning out the next meal we're cooking. "Dog Will Hunt" comes close to contemporary country, boosted by Pearce Gronek's electric guitar. There is even a run through Fred Eaglesmith's classic "Trucker Speed". 

But Deloyd Elze is at their strongest while deconstructing the familiar. "Gatorade & Menthols" swims beautifully in breathy effects, Allen singing of Catching lizards in backyard glow / Just to wear them on my ear lobes. These sibling EPs share a common vibe, even as Horse seems a touch less mannered than Nellene. Even with the support of the Concord label, there is a sense that Deloyd Elze has only begun their journey through our kind of music, that even more genre-busting awaits just over the horizon. 

ROUTES-cast March 7, 2026

^ Deloyd Elze, "Queen Of Spades" Nellene EP  (Concord, 26) 

- Natalie Jane Hill, "Kitchen Table" Hopeful Woman  (Dear Life, 26)

- Manor Close, "You & I" single  (Manor Close, 26)  D

- Tracey Nelson, "Dolly's Coat" single  (Perennial, 26)  D

- Mildred, "Fenceline" Fenceline  (Dog Day, Apr 24)  D

- New Pornograhers, "Spooky Action" Former Site Of  (Merge, Mar 27)

- Jackie West, "Overlooking Glass" Silent Century  (Ruination, 26)  D

- Greg Mendez, "I Wanna Feel Pretty" Beauty Land  (Dead Oceans, May 29)  D

- Matt Berninger & Rosanne Cash, "Who Loves the Sun" single  (Concord, 26)  D

- Aldous Harding, "One Stop" Train On the Island  (4AD, May 8)  D

- Spencer Cullum, "Jackie Paints" Coin Collection 3  (Full Time Hobby, Mar 27)

- Anna Tivel, "Gunmetal Blue" Animal Poem B-Sides EP  (Fluff & Gravy, 26)

- Bonnie Prince Billy, "Life Is Scary Horses" We Are Together Again  (No Quarter, 26)

- Charlotte Cornfield, "Lost Leader (ft Christian Lee Hutson)" Hurts Like Hell  (Merge, Mar 27)

- Shakey Graves, "Time Flies" Fondness Etc  (Dualtone, May 15)  D

- Yarn, "Might As Well Be King" Saturday Night Sermon  (333, Apr 24)

- Haylie Davis, "Wandering Star" Wandering Star  (Fire, Jun 5)  D

- Caleb Caudle, "Ballad Of Country Ham" Heavy Thrill  (Handplow, Jun 5)  D

- Bella White, "False Start" A Sign In the Weather  (Rounder, Jun 5)  D

- Alex Amen, "Cabin By the Sea" single  (ATO, 26)  D

- Erin Rae, "Whip-Poor-Will" single  (Secretly Canadian, 26)  D

- Joshua Ray Walker, "Capital Letters" Ain't Dead Yet  (East Dallas, May 29)  D

- Brit Taylor, "Land Of the Forgotten" Land Of the Forgotten  (Cut A Shine, 26)

- Chaparelle, "Don't Waste Your Prayers" single  (Mom + Pop, 26)  D

- Eric Silverman, "Living the Dream" Bitter Honey  (Royal Oakie, May 29)  D

- Reds Pinks & Purples, "Worthy Of Love" Acknowledge Kindness  (Fire, Apr 24)

- Souled American, "Freeing Wheels" Sanctions  (Jealous Butcher, Apr 17)

- Delines, "Can You Get Me Out Of Phoenix" The Set Up  (Jealous Butcher, 26)

- Low Cut Connie, "Little Freakers" Livin' In the USA  (Contender, Jul 3)

- Barns Courtney, "Green Door" single  (Avenue A, 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: