WHAT's SO GREAT ABOUT THiS WEEK?!! (November 6, 2026)

ROUTES & BRANCHES

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

November 6, 2026

Scott Foley, purveyor of dust

WHAT's SO GREAT ABOUT THiS WEEK?!!

^Magnolia & Johnson Electric Co., "The Dark Don't Hide It" Texas Four Step  (Keeled Scales, Feb 12)

Short of Jason Molina pulling out of his illness, this is the very best of all possible outcomes. We've featured the handful of singles that Will Johnson and the surviving members of Magnolia Electric Co have released to date, and couldn't be more impressed with Keeled Scales' announcement of this forthcoming double live document. Here we'll quote from Erin Osmon's notes: ... they are not a tribute act. Not a cover band. They are a new, very gifted band of players who happened to have intimate relationships with the music they're playing and the man who wrote it. We've heard the entire thing, and the results are transcendent. 

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Tomgirls, "Run" Sissy  (Skull & Bow, Feb 12)

Jenni Rose is the singer and songwriter for the Vandoliers. "Run" is the stirring debut song from her new project as Tomgirls. It was released a few weeks ago, but we decided to feature it here because it's a terrific song and a great video. This is the first day that she feels alive / Jenni told me I just have to try / Might not be good at this, but I still want it / I want to see her in the mirror. 

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Hudson Freeman, "Texas In Flaming Tongues" Doom Country  (Mom+Pop, 26)

Yesterday we shared a link to a Consequence of Sound piece where Hudson Freeman addressed how his new project was influenced in part by his evangelical upbringing, a dark fascination with the apocalypse and a genuine fear of the rapture. You'll hear some of that in this final single, in addition to electric guitars seemingly dragged behind a train. In a good way.

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River Shook, "California Dreaming" single  (Blackberry River, 26)

Back in June, River Shook released their excellent self-titled album. This standalone single arrives as Shook embarks on their California Dreaming Tour. In the writer's own words: It's about possibility and potential. It's about taking stock of your life and making sure it's going in the direction you want. It's about reaching for your dreams at any age, at any time, and working your ass off to make them come true. 

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Will Hasell, "Knuckle" single  (Suddenly, 26)

We're glad Will Hasell released this single, partly so that we can talk about Roadkill Heart, the exceptional full-length he released back in August. We didn't notice the record until it had already passed us by, and have since decided it's among the best of the year. There. Now we feel a little better. 

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A ROUTES & BRANCHES GUiDE to FEEDiNG YOUR MONSTER (November 5, 2026)

A ROUTES & BRANCHES GUiDE to FEEDiNG YOUR MONSTER

good news about good noise

November 5, 2026

Scott Foley, purveyor of dust

We're at that point in the year when most of what we add to A Routes & Branches Guide To Feeding Your Monster (our boundless release calendar) is due in 2027. From Scotland by way of New Mexico, Cahalen Morrison's next full-length is due January 29. You can read more about Broken Bell (Hudson) below. Tomgirls is an outfit fronted by Jenni Rose of Vandoliers. Their debut, Sissy should reach us on or about February 12 (Skull & Bow). Gillian Welch & David Rawlings are preparing the next installment of their Boots catalog. Due February 12, read more about Boots No 3: the Hickory Show (Acony) below, too. Spencer Cullum is a busy guy. His next project, created witih Hollow Hand and Erin Rae, will be called Banquet Rock (Full Time Hobby, Feb 26). Finally, Dead South are our first band with a March release. That would be Silence Please, via the Six Shooter label (Mar 5). 

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^After four (4) tantalizing singles, we're ready for Doom Country, Friday's full-length from Hudson Freeman. Among others, Consequence Of Sound and Pleaser have devoted plenty of digital space profiling the New York by-way-of Missouri artist. Who knows. We might be writing more about it too ... We featured the video for "Fell Ass Backwards" a few weeks ago, about which Freeman notes, I got this really bad haircut like two days before the shoot, so I thought, what if I have a head wound - as if I literally fell ass backwards before we started rolling. It was just to cover my bad haircut ...

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... on the other hand, we also might write about Holy Cross Tigers, the third project this year from Twisted Teens. Even New York Times is sending journalists to profile the duo. Follow the link to read more about Caspian Hollywell living on a couch in the middle of a field, how the act is co-managed by Allison Crutchfield from Waxahatchee, and how they consider themselves folkies: I think a lot of the new rock music has lost its connection to tradition. Us too, Caspian. Us too. 

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It was back in September than Nicole Atkins released her Drama album (Sun). Remember? Glide published an expose shining light on pro wresting's influence on Atkins, to the point where she organized something called Ultimate Zeppelin, which brought together the seemingly diverse worlds of wrestling and Led Zeppelin, and featured acts like Sheryl Crow, Dap-Kings and Dr Dog covering the classic rock band in wrestling gear. 

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A few weeks ago, we featured thirty of our favorite songs from Gillian Welch & David Rawlings. This week, the duo announced Boots No 3: the Hickory Show. Americana UK shares more about the collection, which presents a 1997 concert during which they played an under-rehearsed take on "Pancho & Lefty", bout which Welch comments, even though we play that song, and we've never played it, and we don't know what we're doing, I don't really detect any fear. We're very comfortable and, alright, this solo is gonna be really long because we don't know how to get out of it and we just do it ...

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Oh hey, we also shared a Lookback Machine playlist in celebration of Buddy Miller. This week, the Bluegrass Situation features a piece about the longtime bandleader, having served alongside Robert Plant, Steve Earle, Elvis Costello, and more. Click on the link to read about how Miller's traumatic onstage heart attack influenced his new album (fortunately, we were sitting down). 

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Did you know that Cahalen Morrison moved from New Mexico to Glasgow, Scotland? KLOF published a piece about the origins of his forthcoming record, Broken Bell, featuring musicians whose names we'd struggle to pronounce (Brighde Chaimbeul, Kim Oehme ...). The link will also give you access to a live acoustic session, featuring banjo!

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While there's nary a banjo in sight, KCRW presented a live set with This Is Lorelei. Turns out we missed the meeting where it was decided that the kind of stiff truckers hat sported by frontguy Nate Amos is a good look. Really really good session, though. 

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LOOKBACK MACHiNE: Sturgill Simpson

ROUTES & BRANCHES

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

November 4, 2026

Scott Foley, purveyor of dust

Since his 2013 emergence as a solo artist through this year's second Johnny Blue Skies project, Sturgill Simpson has both defined and overflowed genre. With just about every release embracing distinct stylistic elements, the Kentucky performer has followed his music from country and bluegrass to rock, soul, and whatever Sound & Fury is. As he has noted during his recent JBS tour, he draws his primary motivation from a love of being onstage with his band, playing music he loves.

This means Simpson has tried his hand at several unexpected covers, including stuff originally by Procol Harum, Nirvana, or Buford Abner (just to name three). After declaring that 2021's Ballad Of Dood & Juanita really would be his final Sturgill Simpson LP, he whole-heartedly assumed the mantle of Johnny Blue Skies. Simpson is an artist of seemingly admirable integrity and sinere intention.

We would argue that both Metamodern Sounds and Sailor's Guide belong on a short list of the essential records of the Twenty-First Century. Especially in light of his admitted struggles with substance abuse and emotional wellness, in addition to his flirtation with acting, Sturgill Simpson's artistic future is wide open. We can equally imagine him taking a long break from the stage as releasing a new album tomorrow. We would also be happy with a reissue of his Sunday Valley work ...

STURGiLL SiMPSON: thirty favorites

- "Life Ain't Fair and the World Is Mean" High Top Mountain  (2013)

- "You Can Have the Crown"

- "Some Days"

- "Turtles All the Way Down"  Metamodern Sounds In Country Music  (2014)

- "Life Of Sin"

- "The Promise"

- "Long White Line"

- "Just Let Go"

- "Welcome To Earth (Pollywog)"  A Sailor's Guide To Earth  (2016)

- "Breakers Roar"

- "Keep It Between the Lines"

- "In Bloom"

- "Brace For Impact (Live a Little)" 

- "The Dead Don't Die" single  (2019)

- "Remember To Breathe"  Sound & Fury  (2019)

- "Sing Along"

- "All Around You" Cuttin' Grass Vol 1  (2020)

- "I Don't Mind" 

- "Oh Sarah"  Cuttin' Grass Vol 2  (2020)

- "Jesus Boogie" 

- "One In the Saddle One On the Ground" Ballad Of Dood & Juanita  (2021)

- "Sam"

- "Juanita"

- "All the Gold In California (Brother Marshall and the Choir Of Fire)"  single  (2023)

- "If the Sun Never Rises Again" Passage du Desir  (2024)

- "Jupiter's Faerie" 

- "Mint Tea"

- "Don't Let Go" Mutiny After Midnight  (2026)

- "Situation"

- "Everyone Is Welcome"

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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 (November 3, 2026)

ROUTES & BRANCHES 

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

October 3, 2026

Scott Foley, purveyor of dust

The Friday before Halloween didn't really present us with a huge slate of stuff from which to select our One Record. I don't know that there is another country traditionalist that we appreciate more than Ags Connolly. And both Sam Burton and Zach Stephenson offered satisfying collections. While it's our preference to review real live LPs as opposed to EPs, we've chosen to buck that trend and show some appreciation for Lydia Loveless. Again.

IF YOU ONLY LiSTEN to ONE RECORD THiS WEEK

Over the nearly twenty years of R&B, there are few if any artists whose music we've championed more than Lydia Loveless. But perhaps you're new here, in which case we'd refer you to a 2024 edition of our Lookback Machine wherein we highlighted our thirty favorite Lydia Loveless cuts - it's a really good listen, a solid survey of their career. 

Produced with Matt Ross-Spang, Loveless' new Accolades EP (Bloodshot) is as deserving of critical accolades as anything the Ohio writer has released recently. While they have spoken about a deliberate turn away from their typical soul-mining in favor of a lyrical storytelling approach, the five (or six) songs here are barbed and biting. On the title cut, Loveless declares, I'm gonna go down in a deep dark hole / And try to find what's left of my soul / And while I'm there I'll write what I know. Even tumbling through this drama, their songs are clever and even fun at times. On "Oklahoma", a male chorus sings Sooner / Sooner or later. 

Decamping to Memphis and putting more of their sound into the hands of Ross-Spang, Accolades is a great-sounding project, from John Calvin Abney's keys to the horns and woodwinds that fill out "Avoiding Highways" and "Let Me Get My Hopes Up", where Loveless sings, The world feels like a whirly-bird / That's come to carry all my happiness away. "What We Learned" was written for a Drive-by Truckers collaboration that has yet to materialize (but that would be a phenomenal idea), built on guitars and muscular drums and a lifetime of inherited interpersonal trauma: Regret lights up your face / Just like the dawn. 

We fell in love with Lydia Loveless on their solidly alt.country debut, and across seven albums they've successfully coaxed and prodded their sound across pop and indie soundscapes. At heart, Loveless has remained a stellar songwriter with a powerhouse vocal and a stream of self-sabotage a mile wide. "Avoiding Highways" presents them as a resentful roots rock balladeer: I'm waiting for my next big shot / To blow up like the Old Spaghetti Warehouse down the street. The skittering drum and lyrical flow of the title track lend the opener a melodic pop heartbeat. 

Loveless' range as a vocalist and a writer is actually most evident between that opening cut and the closer, another take on "Accolades". The closer is constructed on an acoustic strum, with the singer seeming more reflective and less confident. The difference between the versions is remarkable, the arrangement for the latter slowly disintegrating into clatter and noise as Loveless invests an increased vitriol in lines like, There's gotta be more than a world of shit / With blown off limbs and chances missed. The EP is a few songs short of a full-length, but provides a complete picture of Lydia Loveless as a fully-invested writer who has become essential to our kind of music. 

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ROUTES-cast November 1, 2026

ROUTES & BRANCHES

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

November 1, 2026

Scott Foley, purveyor of dust

Is the year over yet? Can we declare a winner already? 

No. We're staring down two remaining months of new stuff, records that will no doubt effect our year-end lists. At the dawn of November, we're especially looking forward to projects from Willi Carlisle, Lou Turner, Twisted Teens, Hudson Freeman, James Felice, Westelaken, and Adeem the Artist, to mention just a handful. As we noted last week, we've tentatively settled on the following schedule for those end-of-year lists, once we really can call it over:

Nov 29 - Favorite Covers

Dec 6 - State Of the Genre

Dec 13 - Favorite Songs

Dec 16 - Christmas Christmas (Christmas)

Dec 20 - Favorite Albums

Then we'll grab the pitchfork, turn it all over, and begin again again for 2027. For this week's Spotify ROUTES-cast, it seems the industry has decided that the week prior to Halloween is a time to avoid when scheduling new music. The industry needs to reconsider, if for no other reason than because it makes us happy to share new stuff. Here's some new stuff: 

ROUTES-cast November 1, 2026

^ Ags Connolly, "When You Had the Chance" Yesterday's Man  (SofaBurn, 26)

- Kaitlin Butts, "That Makes One Of Us" Hello Honky Tonk  (Republic, 26)

- Chris Acker, "Tinned Fish and Natural Wine" single  (Gar Hole, Spring 27)

- Nathan Evans Fox, "Reckonings" Long Memory: 20 Years Of Free Dirt  (Free Dirt, Nov 6)

- Viv & Riley, "Sourwood" single  (Free Dirt, 26)  D

- Band Of Heathens, "Stay Young (ft Donavon Frankenreiter)" single  (BoH, 26)  D

- Chatham County Line, "Blackeyed Boy" Wilder Beauty  (Yep Roc, Feb 5)  D

- Josiah and the Bonnevilles, "Pyre" single  (Rounder, 26)  D

- Jesse Welles, "Whirlwind" single  (Welles, 26)  D

- Schaefer Llana, "Court Street" Full Circle  (Strolling Bones, Nov 13)

- Eliot Bronson, "You Are Made Of Light" Arrive  (Bronson, Nov 6)

- Sam Burton, "After Days Slip Away" Fairweather Friend  (Captured Tracks, 26)

- Ben Vaughan, "Imitation Wood Grain (ft Deer Tick)" Magnetic East: Deer Tick Sessions  (Yep Roc, 26)

- Olivia Barnes, "Human Nature" Human Nature EP  (Barnes, 26)  D

- Zach Stephenson, "Suction Cup" I Need To Hear Me Say It  (radius, 26)

- Chad Ray Turner, "Say When" Fingers Crossed  (Well Kept Secret, Jan 29)  D

- Jazmine Mary, "Shower Beer" Country Milk  (Jazmine Mary, Nov 27)  D

- Charlie Kaplan, "On Sunday" Dobro  (Glamour Gowns, 26)  D

- Matt Woods, "Bad Man" single  (Lonely Ones, 26)  D

- Arlo McKinley, "Late John Garfield Blues" Untitled  (Oh Boy, Nov 20)

- Maisy Owen, "Stranger" single  (Tompkins Square, 26)  D

- Hans Williams, "Holey Fence" Songs For the Neighbors  (Tucker Hill, Nov 13)  D

- Lydia Loveless, "What We Learned" Accolades EP  (Bloodshot, 26)

- Lefty Parker, "Punish Me" single  (ATO, 26)  D

- Panamint, "Overbreaker" Panamint EP  (Panamint, 26)

- Little Grandad, "A Minute On the Lips" Speak Softly Son  (Communion, Jan 22)

- Lostines, "I Want To See the Bright Lights Tonight (ft Kinsey Lee)" single  (Lostines, 26)  D

- MJ Lenderman w/Lambchop, "Weakened" Demoed EP  (Merge, Nov 20)  D

- Dowsers, "Three Forks Of Cheat" single  (Gar Hole, 26)

- Gillian Welch & David Rawlings, "Pancho and Lefty (Hickory Show)" single  (Acony, 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?!! (October 30, 2026)

ROUTES & BRANCHES

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

October 30, 2026

Scott Foley, purveyor of dust

WHAT's SO GREAT ABOUT THiS WEEK?!!

^Hans Williams, "Holey Fence"  Songs For the Neighbors  (Giant, Nov 13)

New Orleans transplant Williams presses the mellow button on his November collection, trading in a lush, melodic country-folk. This yearning third single from the project is simply lovely, with its spacious pedal steel and California blue delivery: Saw you dancing / Dancing off in another life / So did you ever find the peace you need?

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Chatham County Line, "Blackeyed Boy" Wilder Beauty  (Yep Roc, Feb 5)

Somehow on the verge of releasing their eleventh full-length, North Carolina's Chatham County Line have always been more than the sum of their parts. Featuring input from Brad Cook and Aoife O'Donovan, their new stuff continues to overflow the typical boundaries of acoustic music. Though, as you will notice, there is not a single true video among this week's picks. 

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MJ Lenderman w/Lambchop, "Weakened" Demoed EP  (Merge, Nov 20)

We're looking forward to this EP, wherein friends of Lambchop try their hand at building on unadorned demos from the already pretty unadorned Punching the Clown. On this day when we're apparently in a truly mellow mood, Lenderman relaxes wonderfully into this unadorned acoustic cut, like a rambling, mid-period Richmond Fontaine. 

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Lefty Parker, "Punish Me"  single  (ATO, 26)

A brand new signing to the ATO label, Lefty Parker has previously collaborated with members of Big Thief and Twain, and he releases his debut Big Label single as he prepares for a tour with our beloved mary in the junkyard. There's a harrowing, haunted note to "Punish Me", born in the wake of a dream of the death of a friend. Happy Halloween. 

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Chad Ray Turner, "Say When"  Fingers Crossed  (Well Kept Secret, Jan 29)

We're back in New Orleans for the week's final pick, from an artist who has apparently bounced from one corner of the country to the other and back again, finally deciding (his words): I tried everything and looked everywhere. There's really no point in anything, actually. But we're here, still, somehow ... and this whole fucking thing is magic. This has the makings of a great TED Talk. 

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A ROUTES & BRANCHES GUiDE to FEEDiNG YOUR MONSTER (October 29, 2026)

A ROUTES & BRANCHES GUiDE to FEEDiNG YOUR MONSTER

good news about good noise

October 29, 2026

Scott Foley, purveyor of dust

^ In August, Lambchop shared a terrific project inspired by shape-note singing. Turns out they sent the demos for those recordings to friends to play with, resulting in the Demoed EP (Merge, Nov 20). Line Of Best Fit quotes frontguy Kurt Wagner: Looking at it now, it does seem like one of those tribute records that happen after an artist dies or needs to raise funds for an operation or medical treatment. Follow our link for more wry perspective from one of the best beards in our kind of music. 

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We've already expressed our fondness for Autosmile, last week's very good alt.folk collection by @. Clash offers a nice chaser in the form of an interview with the duo of Victoria Rose and Stone Filipczak, who chat about the album's gestation. Please enjoy this comment from Filipczak: I feel like in general we're not very, we're neither of us is really like very narrative songwriter, you know, like I think some songwriters like to be like. I feel like our songwriting styles are more like vignettes or more like emotional, ambient emotional situations rather than anything super. And there's more!

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Willi Carlisle will be releasing his Universal Bubba via Signature Sounds come November 6. If you'd like to get your own Universal Bubba on in advance, the songwriter has opened preregistration for a Bandcamp listening party and informal chat on November 5. Follow our link to sign up, and tell them Routes & Branches sent you. They'll be confused. 

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In an interview with Rolling Stone, cited by Far Out, Elvis Costello noted that he has no plans to write new music: Nobody cares whether I make another record. While we find this kinda sad, we don't disagree with his caveat that there's an awful lot you still haven't listened to. Plus, we're giving some thought to a future Lookback Machine playlist featuring Costello's stuff. 

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If you enjoy listening to Jim James and My Morning Jacket, just wait til you're able to read about him! As reported by Grateful Web, James will be publishing a memoir, One Wonders, next April. The book, released by Simon & Schuster, tells how he discovered music via the Muppet Show, in addition to documenting his own struggles with addiction and emotional wellbeing. 

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Last week, Caroline Rose released a collection with one of the year's best titles: Gentling the Horse At the Walt Whitman Mall. In an interview with Our Culture, Rose identifies seven (7) things that inspired their new project. To quote Rose: I have, randomly, a lot of things in common with old men. Us too, Caroline. Us too. 

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Were you aware that there is a website for something called Clunk Magazine? This week they caught up with Fenne Lily following the release of her Win Win record. Learn how the artist paired with members of acts like Big Thief and Pinegrove, and how, following recording sessions, she realized, Oh shit, I have enough songs for two records. 

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Mac Cornish visits Twangville and leaves behind some info about her new Wayfaring Woman record. Follow our link to read more about her wholesome times shooting cans with a bb gun and the importance of avoiding consuming food from gas stations. If only we had this advice during our early years. 

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A Routes & Branches Guide To Feeding Your Monster is our invariably updated album release calendar, eliminating any excuse for being caught by surprise. Arlo McKinley's November 20 project will be a collection of covers. Titled Untitled, the LP features takes on stuff originally by John Prine, Jason Molina, Blaze Foley, and more (Oh Boy). As mentioned above, Lambchop has announced a companion EP to August's Punching the Clown. Demoed offers a handpicked selection of artists singing over demos from Lambchop's original sessions (Merge, Nov 20). Yep Roc has set a February 5 alarm for the appearance of Wilder Beauty, a new project from Chatham County Line. Not to be outdone, Dead South have countered with a March 5 date for their next salvo. Silence Please will be delivered by Six Shooter Records. Finally, Steve Wynn has mentioned his forthcoming studio recording will have a May 14 release. 

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