WHAT's SO GREAT ABOUT THiS WEEK?!! (October 2, 2026)

ROUTES & BRANCHES

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

October 2, 2026

Scott Foley, purveyor of dust

We're afield this week, which has put us a bit behind in pushing out our Friday five favorites. Actually, we prepared blurbs for the first four songs, but wanted to make sure we caught all the Friday singles for consideration. Turns out it's just a bunch of dudes this week. 

WHAT's SO GREAT ABOUT THiS WEEK?!! 

Westelaken, "Sometimes" In It For the Lack  (Vain Mina, Nov 13)

Like several other artists, Toronto's Westelaken have chosen not to make their music available on Spotify. But don't let that fool you - these photogenic young men have been creating their interesting country-whispering indie folk for more than a decade. In their video for "Sometimes", they boldly flaunt the taboo of playing basketball in church. It's actually quite a resonant song, and the light through the stained glass suggests a perfect setting. 

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Willi Carlisle, "Gas Station" Universal Bubba  (Signature Sounds, Nov 6)

The third single from Universal Bubba has garnered some attention from high places for its creative use of puppetry, depicting producer Tyler Childers and his band like a long forgotten Muppets outtake. Shout out for the cinematography of the hot dogs on the rollers. This thing barely clings to the rails, but we expect Carlisle's November album to clear some space on many year-end lists. 

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Hudson Freeman, "Fell Ass Backwards" Doom Country  (Mom+Pop, Nov 6)

Don't let anyone fool you that alt.country isn't a contact sport. Freeman (and his partner/collaborator Sophie Brown) drip their doom country all over the stage in this chaotic clip. Something tells us our year-end favorites list for 2026 will all sound like Nirvana with acoustic guitars and pedal steel. Nothing to complain about there. 

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Greg Freeman, "Loser's Prize" All Set the Bone  (Transgressive, 26)

We warned you in yesterday's post that we were far from done hearing about Greg Freeman's third LP. And we're still not done. This final single gives us another basketball-themed clip, along with a busy assortment of animations. It's a remarkable project, both profoundly evocative and deeply original. When I'm alone I can be anyone / But when I'm with you I'm me. 

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Ryley Walker, "Carrier" single  (AD93, 26)

Fact is, this week we're apparently all about the noise. Not just Walker's savage electric scratching. But the mental noise as well: A junkie with a rig in a pink limo / A loser who made it in roofing / Hoping the hail is brick sized / Praying a Kentucky bend folds the world. And the video comes with a bunch of staticky images too! We're going to nominate Ryley Walker to deliver the National Anthem on next week's Thursday Night Football game ...

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A ROUTES & BRANCHES GUiDE to FEEDiNG YOUR MONSTER (October 1, 2026)

A ROUTES & BRANCHES GUiDE to FEEDiNG YOUR MONSTER

good news about good noise

October 1, 2026

Scott Foley, purveyor of dust

Hudson Freeman has our attention. He's called his November 6 LP Doom Country, which pretty much tells us what to expect. JamBase shares a bit more in a quick chat with Freeman, who tags iconic state-named records like Illinois and Nebraska as influences on the project, his first for the Mom+Pop label. ^

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Far be it for us to offer spoilers here, but we'll be spilling more digital ink on Greg Freeman's Friday release of All Set the Bone soon. It's a big week for men named Freeman (no relation, though they both seen pretty short). Range has published a nice interview with Freeman (Greg), who admits that he grew up rooting for the worst (sports) franchises in existence, and that he distrusts people who really really like his music (we're not gonna apologize). 

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Otis Gibbs hosts a fine interview show, available via YouTube. This week he's been chatting with guitarist Larry Campbell, who tells stories about Big Names like Levon, Prine, Dylan, and others. We're linking to just one of these streaming things, but you'll want to check out the others as time permits. It's quite the rabbit hole. 

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You know how in some places you can adopt a highway, committing to picking up trash along a precariously busy road in exchange for putting your name on a sign? Stereogum reports that Jess Williamson has done just that. The fact that she collects discarded fast food bags in her spare time makes us like her more, and increases our anticipation of Williamson's A Mile South Of Heaven next week. 

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We're by no means guitar wonks, but you can count us among the fans of Marissa Anderson's Anthology Of Unamerican Folk Music, released by Thrill Jockey way back in May. KLOFmag has published an interview with the guitarist, who talks about browsing Harry Smith's private record collection, laboring in factories to fund her wanderlust, and introducing activism into instrumental folk music. 

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Did you read our piece in celebration of Ian Noe's excellent Canyon Falls Trailer Band? Why or why not? Either way, you'll want to stop down for Bluegrass Situation/Good Country's piece where they actually talk to the guy (we didn't do that). Among several other things, the East Kentucky songwriter mentions how he was able to get legendary country harmonica cat Charlie McCoy to lay down a few minutes of work on his way to the Grand Ole Opry. 

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Portland's Jeffrey Silverstein will release Doggone on the Full Time Hobby label on October 23. The guitarist sat down with Glide Magazine on the occasion of his "Helluva" single. Silverstein waxes about what makes the Northwest different, the iconic cover photo for his new record, and working with members of Y La Bamba, Rose City Band, Akron/Family, and more. 

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James Yorkston has given us countless opportunities to appreciate his eclectic and prolific output. KLOF announces La Magnifica, which pulls together a career retrospective and thereby serves as a fine entry point. Who else among us can claim they have collaborated with members of the Cocteau Twins, Hot Chip, and Bert Jansch?! If you count yourself among that select crowd, we're pretty sure you're lying. 

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It's October here on the lonesome prairie that is A Routes & Branches Guide To Feeding Your Monster (our faithfully updated new release calendar). This week we added an October 16 EP from West Coast country-folk guy Hunter Watts. The Valentine label will release I'm Lost Without You. Michael Kiwanuka shared that he's recovering from a stroke, but that he's been able to prepare a new LP from existing sessions. Fudge lands on virtual shelves October 23 via Geffen. Hudson Freeman has plugged in the guitar for his next project. Expect Doom Country on or about November 6 (Mom+Pop). Emma Ogier has served with Bright Eyes, and will be sharing stages with Hovvdy. She's also proclaimed a November 11 release date for a full-length debut, Fly 1111 (Lost Highway). Finally, British folk-rock artist James Yorkston takes a deserved victory lap with his upcoming collection. La Magnifica serves as a retrospective of his prolific career (November 27, Domino). 

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LOOKBACK MACHiNE: Left Arm Tan

ROUTES & BRANCHES

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

September 30, 2026

Scott Foley, purveyor of dust

We're convinced that there's a timeline out there where Left Arm Tan is as much a household name as Old 97s. Where "Cocaine Skinny" shares jukebox space alongside "Rollerskate Skinny". Of course, the one-to-one comparison only goes so far, but Left Arm Tan share a penchant for Texas roots rock that skews pop, songs that land easy on the ears and cling to the memory like a tire on hot asphalt. We regard the outfit's remarkable streak from Alticana through Lorene and El Camino among the strongest three-album runs in our kind of music. "Best I Never Had" belongs on the soundtrack of a motion picture rom-com - some of Daniel Hines' tunes lend themselves to that sort of big-screen imagery. 

And yet, aside from R&B and a few other bloggers who are bold enough to venture outside the bounds of the mainstream, Left Arm Tan's popularity never reached the audiences we'd anticipated. Following the terrific Undefeated, the band declared an indefinite hiatus. We include just one track from the self-titled Marfa Lights project, one that featured a couple bandmembers and boasted a creative origin story and a helping of Texas/Mexico border spirit. Then a few months ago an email from Daniel Hines shared the very welcome news of a new Left Arm Tan project. When Tigers Smoked is already available on Bandcamp, and has set an official release date of October 9 (with an album release show October 24 at Fort Worth's Magnolia Motor Lodge). We've included a streaming link following our usual Spotify playlist. If you are new to Left Arm Tan, we're excited for you! For those who are already familiar, these thirty songs will no doubt rekindle your appreciation. 

LEFT ARM TAN: thirty favorites

- "Wish" Jim  (2010)

- "Black and White Movie"

- "Nicotine"

- "Nowhere Blues" Thurm EP  (2011)

- "Ghost Of Lila Pearl" 

- "Fading Away" Alticana  (2013)

- " 69 Reasons" 

- "Long Yellow Stripe" 

- "Omaha"

- "Gonna Find Me a Rock" Lorene  (2016)

- "Blacktop Blues" 

- "Freedom Bus" 

- "El Camino" El Camino  (2018)

- "Shortcut To Oblivion" 

- "Looking At the World Through a Windshield"

- "Mistress Freedom" 

- "Best I Never Had"

- "Mexicali Run" Left Arm Tan  (2020)

- "Pawn Shop Heart"

- "Stars and City Lights" 

- "It Ain't Love" Road Songs EP  (2021)

- "California Sands" single  (2022)

- "Pamplona" Undefeated  (2024)

- "Undefeated" 

- "76 Trans Am"

- "Born To Break Your Heart"

- "Cocaine Skinny"

- "Heart Like a Bruise" Marfa Lights  (2024)

- "Rolling Under the Stars"  When Tigers Smoked  (2026)

- "Amsterdam"

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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 (September 29, 2026)

ROUTES & BRANCHES

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

September 29, 2026

Scott Foley, purveyor of dust

IF YOU ONLY LiSTEN to ONE RECORD THiS WEEK

As we reminded folks with last week's Orville Peck review, concept albums can be a tough creature to tame. Ian Noe has mentioned that Canyon Falls Trailer Band (Lock13) tells the story of an outfit trying to strike gold, trusting their fate to a one-night stand. Restricting his third LP to a single story short changes the Kentucky artist's masterful way with character sketches and regional mythologies. The sixteen-cut project never limits itself or wears out its welcome, but rather cements Noe as an unparalleled backwoods bard. 

Ian Noe said of Eastern Kentucky in a recent interview, I grew up here. It's all I've ever known. I love it. I'm inspired by it. It's where I learned how to play music. Noe excels at painting his portraits and spinning his yarns without judgment. On CFTB he names names and plots places on the map: Hook a left down at the crooked Coke sign, he advises on "Heidelberg Fisherman's Ball". Because he sings from a place of deep respect, Noe can call out hillbillies and rednecks, whether he's recounting a Friday night rager or detailing a town's falling prey to addiction. On "Heidelberg", the narrator boasts, I never get towed and I never get stuck / I got a VCR baby, make my own wine. 

Canyon Falls Trailer Band is produced by Andrija Tokic, who earned the right with his superb work on 2022's River Fools & Mountain Saints. On songs like the title cut, he surrounds Noe with a deeper band than usual, with special recognition to Jo Schornikow's piano and Billy Contreras, whose fiddle serves an essential role here. As he loosely follows the story of the dreams and aspirations of a fellow country artist, the line between fiction and his own story is blurred: I'm trying to make a living / The only way I know how. The collection's more upbeat tracks rumble by on an appropriately easygoing spirit. "Redneck Mess" delivers a rowdy, shout-along country chorus, as the narrator plots his ascension: Someday when I'm sitting good / I'm gonna buy this whole mountain / And move it out to Hollywood. The great Russ Pahl fuels numbers such as "Another Night Like That" with blazing electric leads and pedal steel support. 

But Ian Noe fostered his growing reputation on records constructed with subtlety and restraint, numbers that ranged ably between folk and country. Even with the added support, "What I'd Give" and "Tobacco Moon" recall the writer's fondness for minor keys and haunting imagery (what was the last country song you remember that featured a french horn solo?). "Bible County" hails from the same spectral place: Your old house is a lonely kudzu bed / And the birdbath broke, and the flowers disappeared. Dedicated to Blaze Foley, "Jukebox Blues" fills the footsteps of Townes Van Zandt: My back's been hurting, I know it won't be long / I can feel the angels circling / I pray I go out on a Merle Haggard song. Noe also name-drops country-adjacent artists like the Byrds, Waylon, and George Jones. "Leeann" is one of the year's most memorable tunes: The speakers stay high / All through the night, playing Live Rust. It's a moment of tentative homecoming on a record shot through with departures, a quietly masterful song. 

Fewer than ten years have passed since Ian Noe's promising debut EP, Off This Mountaintop, and the songwriter has taken due time honing his craft. There are no cheap rhymes or false narratives on Canyon Falls Trailer Band. We can count of few fingers the artists in whose company we'd include Noe: John R Miller, Pony Bradshaw, Drayton Farley. But we're just as tempted to hoist him onto his own pedestal. There may be vague resolution to the artist's story he relates here (They sold all their pub off their eight LPs / With a Live! and one Greatest Hits), but that doesn't detract from the project's impact. The project provides us a clear-eyed glimpse into Eastern Kentucky denizens, and thereby into the heart of its foremost songwriter. 

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ROUTES-cast September 27, 2026

ROUTES & BRANCHES

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

September 27, 2026

Scott Foley, purveyor of dust

ROUTES-cast September 27, 2026

^ Star Room Boys, "Gasconia" Why Do Lonely Men and Women Want To Break Each Other's Hearts (Reissue)  (Strolling Bones, 26)

- Israel Nash, "You're Still On My Mind" Sweetheart Of the Rodeo  (Desert Folklore, 26)

- Tender Things, "Head On Up" Is a Nasty Band  (Spaceflight  Oct 15)

- Whitey Morgan & the 78s, "Hell On the Highway" Hell On the Highway  (Morgan, Dec 4)  D

- Flatland Cavalry, "Cinnamon Sugar (It's Love)" Work Of Heart - Heartstrings  (Lost Highway, Oct 2)

- Pony Bradshaw, "Algorithms" Through a Glass Darkly  (Dogs Of the South, 26)  D

- Ian Noe, "Bible County" Canyon Falls Trailer Band  (Leo13, 26)

- Mac Cornish, "Calico" Wayfaring Woman  (Cornish, 26)

- Jamestown Revival, "Being Honest" single  (Revival, 26)  D

- Joshua Quimby, "Illegal Smile (ft John Moreland)" single  (Quimby, 26)  D

- Brody Price, "Not That Bad" Leaf Miner's Daughter  (Gar Hole, Oct 13)  D

- Yawpers, "Don't Keep It Inside" enswell!  (Yawpers, 26)  D

- Richard Thompson, "Sorcerer's Apprentice" Hippies Thugs and Heroes  (New West, Oct 16)

- Lydia Loveless, "Accolades" Accolades EP  (Bloodshot, Oct 30)  D

- Lily Konigsberg, "Free Byrd" single  (Wharf Cat, 26)  D

- Julia Jacklin, "If I Had the Hand Of God" The Gem  (4AD, 26)

- Lawrence Rothman, "Nothing Like Shakespeare" Here Lies Love/Sawdust To Stardust  (Forty Below, 26)

- Brother Bird, "Chameleon" Lodge In Miller County  (Easy Does It, 26)

- Lou Turner, "No Gate" Strangels  (Turner, Nov 6)

- Sunken Man, "Carolina Border Town" Sunken Man  (Single Lock, 26)

- Rayland Baxter, "Bolly Plateau" True Violet  (ATO, Oct 23)

- Lamplight, "Speak To Us Of Love" Lick the Spoon Let It Soften  (Western Vinyl, Oct 23)

- James Felice, "Let Yourself Live" Homeworld Blue  (Million Stars, Nov 13)  D

- Alex Izenberg, "Boy You'll Be a Woman Soon" single  (Mexican Summer, 26)

- Michael Nau, "New Slack" Popfly  (Suicide Squeeze, Oct 23)

- Dead Gowns, "New Blue" Vegas  (Mtn Laurel, Oct 23)

- Folk Bitch Trio, "Razor Love" Spotify Singles  (Jagjaguwar, 26)  D

- Jude Brothers, "Magpie & Birch" Dogwood Maiden Voyage  (Gar Hole, 26)

- Mary In the Junkyard, "Jane" single  (AMF, 26)  D

- Kristina Murray, "Sweetest Plum" Little Blue (Deluxe)  (Normaltown, 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?!! (September 25, 2026)

ROUTES & BRANCHES

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

September 25, 2026

Scott Foley, purveyor of dust

We're all about the singles here on Fridays, chasing down five reasons to care about new music this week. We call it

WHAT's SO GREAT ABOUT THiS WEEK?!!

Alex Izenberg, "Boy You'll Be a Woman Soon" single  (Mexican Summer, 26)

Izenberg's new song sounds nothing like the Neil Diamond tune its title suggests, but we can't help but keep "Girl You'll Be a Woman Soon" close at hand. Turns out "Boy" is nowhere near as thematically problematic, and we love its vaguely retro So.Cal arrangement, even as we're not entirely certain what it's all about. Per the songwriter, it's a song about transformation, identity, and the strange distance between who the world tells us we are and who we discover ourselves to be. 

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Lydia Loveless, "Accolades" Accolades EP  (Bloodshot, Oct 30)

If you have enough songs for an EP, we're okay if you need to spend a few more weeks to built it all into a proper LP. Especially when the songs are as good as this first glimpse into Loveless' five (5) song tease. For her new video, the singer bobs neck-deep in water, her doe-eyed expression teetering on the line between real emotional drama and self-parody: There's nothing better that you can get / Than a job you can do right from your bed / It's the ultimate 'fuck you, man' satisfaction. 

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Michael Nau, "New Slack" Popfly  (Suicide Squeeze, Oct 23)

We're never quite sure if the onetime force behind Cotton Jones is releasing his demos or his complete tracks. We love the clean, sharp sound of Michael Nau's new songs, and have all day for the breathy sax he adds in the space between / The beat and the drum machine. The promotional material calls it both homespun and otherworldly, which we'll happily sign off on. 

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Julia Jacklin, "If I Had the Hand Of God"  The Gem  (4AD, Sep 25)

On this, the release date for her new full-length, we share our favorite cut, the video for which portrays the songwriter wearing an ostrich feather headdress as she wanders through Vegas. It's set to the sort of swaggered, guitar-heavy indie-stuff that recalls Waxahatchee or Jess Williamson, but harder: Will the circle stay unbroken / If I walked away for awhile?

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Lily Konigsberg, "Free Byrd" single  (Wharf Cat, 26)

In addition to her diy solo stuff, Konigsberg has worked with Palberta and with Nate Amos, under the name My Idea. But it's been four (4) years since her last music, and even if this isn't her take on the Lynyrd Skynyrd staple, we'll be shouting for her to play it in concert. I'm struck by a feeling it's both happy and sad / I'll love you forever but I'm not coming back - sometimes the most insistent earworms come from the most simple songs. 

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A ROUTES & BRANCHES GUiDE to FEEDiNG YOUR MONSTER (September 24, 2026)

A ROUTES & BRANCHES GUiDE to FEEDiNG YOUR MONSTER

good news about good noise

September 24, 2026

Scott Foley, purveyor of dust

Every week we take account of what's been added to A Routes & Branches Guide To Feeding Your Monster, our constantly updated guide to feeding your monster. Eric Slick is best known as a longtime member of Deer Tick. He describes Bounce House as a chaotic, technicolor fever dream (Slick, Mar 5). Founding Felice Brother, James Felice, announces his second solo effort. Homeworld Blue arrives November 13 via Conor Oberst's Million Stars label. Brody Price says that the mantra for Leaf Miner's Daughter was Things fall apart and then I keep them around. Consider us curious (Gar Hole, Nov 13). Lydia Loveless' next project will be an EP. Bloodshot will present Accolades EP on October 30. Consider us curious again. Finally, Tender Things has been dropping singles for several months. Now they've set October 15 as the debut of Is a Nasty Band (Spaceflight). 

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Allison Russell is fresh off the July issue of her In the Hour Of Chaos. And appearing as Persephone in Hadestown. And practicing her clarinet real good. Grateful Web catches Russell on a spare moment, for an interview in which she expands upon the idea that feeling good is a radical act. ^

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Australia's Dylan Young performs as Way Dynamic. The act's 2025 Massive Shoe has been reissued by the Jagjaguwar label. The Guardian sits down with Young, chatting about enrolling in the school of YouTube, beginning work on his next project, and the best music to play for cleaning your house. 

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Friday marks the release of Julia Jacklin's new The Gem on the 4AD label. Paste offers a Q&A with the songwriter, grilling her about the pressure to party, the wisdom of matching tattoos, and the assumption that the longer you do it, the more successful you get (we wish). 

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Were you aware that Crack Magazine is a thing? Aoife Anson-O'Connell from Westside Cowboy is way ahead of us. She has penned a piece about her appreciation for Sufjan Stevens. Is this our second mention of Stevens in the past seven days? Yes. Yes, it is. 

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We mention Brody Price's forthcoming record up there in our Routes & Branches Guide To Feeding Your Monster thing. Twangville digs for the dirt, grilling the hard-working musician about touring in a Subaru, working at an east Austin sawmill, and how building your livelihood around music-related income sucks. 

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We spend so much time tracking new and forthcoming releases. Nevertheless, we were unaware that Billy Allen + the Pollies had released Live At Muscle Shoals Sound earlier this month. We also missed NPR's chat with Allen about the project. God knows what else we might be allowing to pass beneath our increasingly patchy music dam. 

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Spoiler: We've placed a bookmark in Waylon Payne's excellent Wayward album to revisit it for our year-end favorites list. Americana Highways catches up to the songwriter about his fondness for Amy Grant's Lead Me On record (!). Also Bobbie Gentry's Patchwork. But we were mostly curious about the Amy Grant thing. 

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Fruition is calling it quits after eighteen years and eight records. But not before one final tour (and an interview with Bluegrass Situation). Oh, says Jay Cobb Anderson: Just because we aren't touring doesn't mean we won't play together again. In fact, I highly doubt we'll never play again. We might even put out another record but not tour on it ... So apparently not calling it quits for reals. 

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Bassman Freddy Trujillo has served with both Richmond Fontaine and the Delines, so it's the least we can do to pay him some attention as a solo artist. His Ave Trujillo alights upon virtual shelves tomorrow, as noted by Glide's preview/interview. The record features several of his former and current bandmates, and is built around his fondness for birds. Turns out scrub jays are a gateway bird to a larger ornithological habit. 

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