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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LOOKBACK MACHiNE: Will Johnson

ROUTES & BRANCHES

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

September 23, 2026

Scott Foley, purveyor of dust

In all his incarnations, Will Johnson has been a subtly entrancing figure in our kind of music. As the frontman for Centro-Matic and/or South San Gabriel, as a solo singer-songwriter, working alongside Jason Molina, collaborating on New Multitudes and Monsters Of Folk, pairing with Justin Peter Kinkel-Schuster in Marie/Lepanto, with the Kadanes in Overseas, or drumming behind Jason Isbell in his 400 Unit. See also Johnson's terrific current work beneath the Magnolia & Johnson Electric Co, ensuring a lasting legacy for Molina's latter work. It's an almost unmatched run, a waltz across genres and musical partners that has stirred up little popular attention despite earning an abiding following among his dedicated fans. 

For our own all-too-brief tribute, we've chosen to restrict our appreciation to just his solo projects and that with Centro-Matic and South San Gabriel. Even that provides a huge challenge in light of Johnson's exceptionally prolific early period. For the sake of representation, we chose to add one song per record for most projects. So, in the end, what we present this week is more a survey than a favorites list. The evolution from nearly-emo guitar slasher to introspective short-story writer with a guitar is impressive. Along the way, we hear the influence of Molina himself, as well as Vic Chesnutt and Patterson Hood, as Will Johnson gradually settles into his own literary expression. 

WiLL JOHNSON & CO: thirty favorites

- Centro-Matic, "Fidgeting Wildly" Redo the Stacks  (1996)

- Centro-Matic, "Numbers One and Three" Navigational  (1999)

- Centro-Matic, "Calling Up the Bastards" Static vs the Strings  (1999)

- Centro-Matic, "Huge In Every City" All the Falsest Hearts Can Try  (1999)

- Centro-Matic, "Proud Son Of Gaffney" South San Gabriel Songs-Music  (2000)

- Centro-Matic, "To Unleash the Horses Now" Distance and Clime  (2001)

- Will Johnson, "Re-run Pills" Murder Of Tides  (2002)

- Will Johnson, "Tent Of Total Mystery" Murder Of Tides  (2002)

- South San Gabriel, "Saint Augustine" Welcome Convalescence  (2003)

- Centro-Matic, "Flashes and Cables" Love You Just the Same  (2003)

- Will Johnson, "Just To Know What You've Been Dreaming" Vultures Await  (2004)

- Will Johnson, "Closing Down My House" Vultures Await  (2004)

- South San Gabriel, "I Feel Too Young To Die" Carlton Chronicles  (2005)

- Centro-Matic, "Patience For the Ride" Fort Recovery  (2006)

- Centro-Matic, "Atlanta" Operation Motorcide  (2007)

- Centro-Matic & South San Gabriel, "Emma Jane" Dual Hawks  (2008)

- Centro-Matic & South San Gabriel, "Rat Patrol and DJs"  Dual Hawks  (2008)

- Molina & Johnson, "Twenty Cycles To the Ground" Molina & Johnson  (2009)

- Centro-Matic & South San Gabriel, "Inhabitants" Eyas  (2010)

- Centro-Matic, "Against the Line" Candidate Waltz  (2011)

- Will Johnson, "You Will Be Here Mine" Scorpion  (2012)

- Centro-Matic, "Salty Disciple" Take Pride In Your Long Odds  (2014)

- Will Johnson, "Nameless But a Lover" Swan City Vampires  (2015)

- Will Johnson, "Call Call Call" Swan City Vampires  (2015)

- Will Johnson, "Childress (To Ogden)" Hatteras Night a Good Luck Charm  (2017)

- Will Johnson, "Predator" Hatteras Night a Good Luck Charm  (2017)

- Will Johnson, "Cornelius" Wire Mountain  (2019)

- Will Johnson, "El Capitan" El Capitan  (2020)

- Will Johnson, "Sinker Sinking" No Ordinary Crown  (2023)

- Will Johnson, "Unfamiliar Ghost" Diamond City  (2025)

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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 22, 2026)

ROUTES & BRANCHES

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

September 22, 2026

Scott Foley, purveyor of dust

On the jacket for his third original full-length album, Orville Peck perches atop a stool, stripped of all but his t-shirt, briefs, and his trademark fringed mask and white cowboy hat. Mule is certainly Peck's most thematically cohesive record to date, maybe his most personally revealing. Like the cover photo, the new songs suggest a vulnerability, addressing the artist's own journey from addiction to sobriety.

Mule opens with a Greek chorus of Noah Cyrus, Allison Russell and Emmylou Harris setting the stage a'la O Brother with a short acapella Eulogy for the man turned mule. Peck has indicated that the songs are arranged along a timeline, from addiction to the dissolution of his relationship, through rehab to a tentative sobriety. On "Big Ol' House", he sways on the brink of indecision: Echoed notes of songs I wrote / No one left to play 'em for. 

Since his 2019 debut, Orville Peck's artistry has grown, still rooted in classic country while gathering confidence in reaching further afield. He has called this my bluegrass album, incorporating both the fiddle of Ketch Secor and Molly Tuttle's banjo throughout. Nothing on Mule digs too deeply into the genre beyond the use of this instrumentation. "Rehab Blues" confirms that the road to recovery is no fun, loping along with Dillon Casey's barroom piano: I hate it here / I don't care / And I wanna die. Peck's theatrical camp exhibits in his walk between drama and self-deprecation: Catch me on the evening news / Dumb fag dies from the rehab blues. 

"Cowboy Heart" exhibits Peck's ease with the country genre, backed with steel guitar as he wanders the LA streets in the company of the ghost of Jim Morrison. "Run Out Of Road" alternates an interesting percussive guitar line with a typically dramatic chorus: The price of being wild and free / Can leave you more alone. Always a generationally strong singer, Peck sounds terrific here, his trademark elastic yodel betraying more vulnerability, especially on the record's moving title cut. 

Songs on Mule are often unusually brief, but are peppered with some of the most pop-flavored country of his career in "Too Little Too Late" and "Already Gone". Both are deeply melodic, with the bright and tuneful arrangements often juxtaposed with more overcast lyrics: Lonesome heart by design / Broken head in decline / Telling anyone who'll listen it'll all be fine. "Mule" acknowledges some resolution to the album's story arc, even if it seems to be qualified: I went away to find / What happened to my mind / I think I found it partly / I don't know. The title cut almost finds Orville Peck letting his mask down, though he is quick to attribute the stage prop as part of the camp and drag that have always been part of the country genre since the days of Johnny Cash and Dolly Parton. It's not change, he concludes, I think it's more like coming home. 

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ROUTES-cast September 20, 2026

ROUTES & BRANCHES

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

September 20, 2026

Scott Foley, purveyor of dust

ROUTES-cast September 20, 2026

^ Goodnight Texas, "Dopamine"  Wooden Machine  (Goodnight, 26)

- Milk Carton Kids, "Making a Fool Of Myself" single  (Far Cry, 26)  D

- John Prine, "Dogs In Burlington" Found Dogs  (Oh Boy, Oct 9)

- JP Harris, "Hang Me (ft Chance McCoy)" Shaving a Dead Man  (Bloodshot, Oct 23)

- Sam Baker, "Mennonite" Survivor  (RC!, 26)  D

- Jake Xerxes Fussell, "Every Time I Go To Town" Old Beloved Path  (Fat Possum, 26)

- Arborist, "Bye Bye Johnny Cash" Looking For Love  (Arborist, Oct 16)

- Katie Pruitt, "Fools For the Fleeting" Fools For the Fleeting  (Rounder, 26)

- Brandy Clark, "American Roots" the bird  (Reprise, Jan 15)  D

- Presley Haile, "Folded Moon" Hamilton Honey Pt 2 EP  (Columbia, Oct 2)  D

- John Paul White, "Old History (ft Morgan Wade)" single  (Warner, 26)  D

- Jonathan Something, "The Garden" One More Lonesome Cowboy Song  (High Shelter, Oct 16)

- Brother Bird, "Pessimist" Lodge In Miller County  (Easy Does It, Sep 25)

- Ransom Brothers, "Percocets and Porcelain" Cryin' Shame  (Ransom, 26)

- Old Crow Medicine Show, "Penn Station" Felice County Fair: Celebration Of Felice Brothers  (Sony, Oct 16)

- Noeline Hofmann, "Wilson Silverstar 402 Blues" single  (Mercury, 26)  D

- Muscadine Bloodline, "Escatawpa Hollow" single  (Stancaster, 26)  D

- Palmyra, "Guilty" Cheap Beer EP  (Oh Boy, 26)

- Aubory Bugg, "Just Embers Now" I Think I Had Something Once  (Dualtone, 26)

- Hiss Golden Messenger, "Pontiac (ft Bruce Hornsby)" single  (Chrysalis, 26)  D

- Nicki Bluhm, "How Strong Is a Woman" single  (Bluhm, 26)  D

- Nicole Atkins, "For No One" Drama  (Sun, 26)

- Orville Peck, "Cowboy Heart" Mule  (Warner, 26)

- Napsack, "Inside/Outside" More Mountains  (Just Because, Oct 16)

- Foot Ox, "Church (In a Box)" Topanga Canyon  (Lauren, Oct 23)

- Queen Of Jeans, "Nothin'" hard/SWEET  (Memory, Oct 9)

- Mildred, "Bird Laugh" single  (Dog Day x Memorials Of Distinction, 26)  D

- Free Range, "What's Right" Singin' To An Empty Chair (Deluxe)  (New West, 26)

- Wednesday, "June 2 (Early Version)" Bleeds (Deluxe)  (Dead Oceans, 26)  D

- Kevin Morby, "PBJ" single  (Dead Oceans, 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 18, 2026)

ROUTES & BRANCHES

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

September 18, 2026

Scott Foley, purveyor of dust

We start with the assumption that our readers care about new music. You arrive at our doorstep hoping for something to feed that appetite for discovery, be it a new song from a familiar artist, or maybe even something from a band that's brand new to you. We also recognize that it can be overwhelming to arrive at the table in search of a little something, only to be faced with a sprawling buffet! So it's our job to make you a more manageable plate. You might want to try these. Start here. 

Plus, we work on the premise that you want a little of everything. Faced with a buffet table, you'd rather not simply pile your plate with mashed potatoes (or perhaps you would?). So we strive for a diversity of flavors and colors, we hope to strike a nice balance knowing that everyone is likely to find something that way. 

Thus ends today's food analogy. It's all just music. We've chosen five (5) singles from the week that we enjoy. We hope/expect you will as well. We call it 

WHAT"S SO GREAT ABOUT THiS WEEK?!!  

^Queen Of Jeans, "Nothin'"  hard/SWEET  (Memory, Oct 9)

We're told that hard/SWEET is the Philadelphia trio's fourth LP, though they're new to us. hard/SWEET might hint at the sound of the record, characterized by heavy, almost shoegaze guitars and more melodic vocal harmonies. "Nothin'" arrives with a homey video and lyrics about finding places of true meeting, even with strangers. And playin' your instruments on the roof. Which is ill advised. 

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Mildred, "Bird Laugh" single  (Dog Day x Memorials Of Distinction, 26)

It's true. The Oakland act Mildred is fresh off the release of Fenceline, their appealing April full-length debut. "Bird Laugh" is reportedly one side of a double-sided single, both songs written during the tour behind that first collection. The four members of Mildred rotate writing and singing. Says Jack Schrott who penned this one: I think this song is about resigning yourself to something. Some things you can't fight, like snow falling. And sometimes the things you resign yourself to are the most beautiful things. 

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Noeline Hofmann, "Wilson Silverstar 402 Blues" single  (Mercury, 26)

Is this the first sign of a follow-up to the Canadian artist's Purple Gas? Hofmann's new single is a truckin' song, with lyrics we can only assume talk about truckin' things: Hide sticking out the ovals / Of the corrugated wilson / 53ft Silverstar tri-axle behind me. Props to fellow longhaul enthusiast Jesse Daniel who plays the role of the trucker with authenticity and aplomb.

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Arborist, "Bye Bye Johnny Cash"  Looking For Love  (Arborist, Oct 16)

We were pretty sure this new Arborist single was the smoothest thing we'd heard all week, then the sax accompaniment kicked in and secured our suspicion. From Belfast, Arborist is the product of Mark McCambridge, whose new collection explores the seedier haunts and the undesirables of his Irish home. Played by a true burlesque artist, the dancer in this video really commits to those large feather props. 

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Presley Haile, "Folded Moon"  Hamilton Honey Pt 2 EP  (Columbia, Oct 2)

Part 1 of the Texas artist's two-part EP series was released in July, and exceeded our expectations for her songs, which occasionally recalled a young Nanci Griffith: We wore our souls as thin as Goodwill boots. She's also identified Townes Van Zandt and horror auteur Stephen King as writing influences ... 

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A ROUTES & BRANCHES GUiDE to FEEDiNG YOUR MONSTER (September 17, 2026)

A ROUTES & BRANCHES GUiDE to FEEDiNG YOUR MONSTER

good news about good noise

September 17, 2026

Scott Foley, purveyor of dust

Just last night, the Americana Honors & Awards were ... well, honored & awarded in Nashville. While we are by no means guided by the organization's work, we do recognize that they put on quite a show with their yearly Americanafest, and that their award recognitions aren't as off as, say, the Grammys. You can stream the whole thing (for now) at NPR's World Cafe site, and they usually clean it up for wider consumption at a later date. In addition to the Tom Petty tribute (noted below), there were moments in celebration of Todd Snider and Dolly Parton (who recorded an acceptance speech prior to her passing (of course)). 

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Alright, it's been four years since Lydia Loveless' last LP. Signs are looking very positive for (in her words) something something about something coming soon. You can hear five seconds of something at her Instagram page. Just press repeat and it's almost like a new song!

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The world needs more supergroups! Bumperstickers should be issued. Grateful Web shares information about Toy Factory Project, a welcome collaboration between folks like Marcus King, Blackberry Smoke's Charlie Starr, Oteil Burbridge, and more. The outfit formed in tribute to Toy Caldwell, founder of Marshall Tucker Band. Check out their tour info, as well as a performance video. Can a record be far behind?

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On the New Pornographers' substack, AC Newman quotes Jonathan Richman: We have to learn to play with nothing. Our guitars are broken and it's raining. For Newman's band, the challenges began with difficulty obtaining visas for the Canadian members of New Pornographers, and unspooled from there, to include Covid, rehearsals at a studio in the hills above Santa Fe that feels like a Breaking Bad theme park, and simply rolling with the punches to carry out the US leg of their tour. 

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Tom Petty is one of those adjacent artists that influenced many of the folks we represent, but who don't appear on our ROUTES-cast playlists. Petty & the Heartbreakers are receiving a Lifetime Achievement Award at this week's Americana Honors & Awards program, and the remaining members are scheduled to reunite for a special performance. Petty's estate has also just announced a boxed set of his early work, mostly between the end of Mudcrutch and the first recordings with the Heartbreakers. You can read more in Grateful Web's writeup. 

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^Is it time for a new album from Whitey Morgan & the 78s? No, it's way past time. Saving Country Music reminds readers that it's been a full eight (8) years since 2018's Hard Times and White Lines. Looks like they still haven't improved the appeal of their jacket art, but we look forward to hearing what's in the wings, beginning with next Friday's debut single. 

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Beck doesn't need our help. While we don't include him in our blog, we admire a bunch of what he's done, especially on Sea Change. His new Ride Lonesome project rings many of those same bells. New Music Express chats with Beck about his first original record in seven years, what he terms a heartbreak record. 

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Okay, more Alabama Shakes stuff. Brittany Howard and Heath Fogg discover that some radio stations continue to have physical libraries. When asked by KCRW to pick a couple of their personal favorites we'd love for them to go deep, but they settle on something pretty familiar. Nevertheless, Howard sets the stage for a Shakes/Sade collab, so it's with it in the end. 

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These can be crazy days at A Routes & Branches Guide To Feeding Your Monster, our enduringly updated record release calendar. This week's adds included a deluxe edition of Wednesday's 2025 Bleeds LP. This one will feature remixes and demos (Dead Oceans, Sep 18). Keeping folk music safe for sensitive ears, Shovel Dance Collective have returned with their third album. Expect Everything In Readiness on or about October 23, courtesy of the tak:til imprint. We are shameless fans of holiday music, and are pleased to see Sufjan Stevens announce Worst Christmas Ever! The collection distills the songwriter's prodigious seasonal output, adding a new song as well (Asthmatic Kitty, Nov 6). A touring member of bands for Jimbo Mathus and Shinyribs, Llana Shaefer has announced her debut solo project. Strolling Bones has set aside November 13 for the release of Full Circle. Finally, see above for more info on the first Whitey Morgan & the 78s collection in several years. If all goes as planned, Hell On the Highway will arrive on digital shelves on December 4. 

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