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"

--------------------------

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. 

--------------------------

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

--------------------------

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?

--------------------------

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. 

--------------------------

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. 

--------------------------

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. 

--------------------------

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. 

--------------------------

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. 

--------------------------

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!

--------------------------

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. 

--------------------------

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. 

--------------------------

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. 

--------------------------

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. 

--------------------------

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. 

--------------------------

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. 

--------------------------

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. 

--------------------------

LOOKBACK MACHiNE: Joe Pernice

ROUTES & BRANCHES

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

October 28, 2026

Scott Foley, purveyor of dust

We've made the argument that Scud Mountain Boys' 1996 Massachusetts belongs among the pantheon of early, essential alt.country. The short-lived act provided our first glimpse at the seminal songwriting of Joe Pernice, who would continue to ply his trade as a solo artist and as a collaborator. As a member of Pernice Brothers, he extended into the pure pop realm. Chappaquiddick Skyline was reportedly a collection of Brothers songs he felt fell short of a true Pernice project. New Mendicants provided a perfect foil in Teenage Fan Club's Norman Blake, while Roger Lion proved an unexpectedly good trip hop outing with Josh 'Budo' Karp (Pernice called it acoustic music for a hip hop world). More recently, Joe Pernice: the solo guy has relaxed into a pair of reassuringly good records on the New West label. 

While it's not included in our Spotify playlist below, Pernice has also floated more than his share of cover songs, most notably on a 2009 soundtrack to his published novel, It Feels So Good When I Stop (not to overlook a surprisingly sincere EP in tribute to Barry Manilow). 

While most of this work flew well beneath the popular radar, it rose to a critical success. A published author with an MFA degree, Joe Pernice is among the foremost literary songwriters. He's shared his songs beneath several different names, but it all holds together exceptionally well, as you'll hear on our Lookback Machine playlist below. 

JOE PERNiCE: thirty favorites

- Scud Mountain Boys, "Silo" The Early Year  (1997)

- Scud Mountain Boys, "Freight Of Fire" 

- Scud Mountain Boys, "In a Ditch" Massachusetts  (1996)

- Scud Mountain Boys, "Scratch Ticket" 

- Scud Mountain Boys, "Grudge Fuck" 

- Scud Mountain Boys, "Knievel"

- Pernice Brothers, "Crestfallen"  Overcome By Happiness  (1998)

- Pernice Brothers, "Overcome By Happiness"

- Joe Pernice, "Prince Valium" Big Tobacco  (2000)

- Chappaquiddick Skyline, "Hundred Dollar Pocket"  Chappaquiddick Skyline  (2000)

- Chappaquiddick Skyline, "Leave Me Alone"

- Pernice Brothers, "Working Girls" World Won't End  (2001)

- Pernice Brothers, "She Heightened Everything" 

- Pernice Brothers, "Weakest Shade Of Blue" Yours Mine & Ours  (2003)

- Pernice Brothers, "Water Ban" 

- Pernice Brothers, "Saddest Quo" Discover a Lovelier You  (2005)

- Pernice Brothers, "Somerville"  Live a Little  (2006)

- Pernice Brothers, "Conscience Clean (I Went To Spain)"

- Pernice Brothers, "Great Despression  Goodbye Killer  (2010)

- Scud Mountain Boys, "Do You Love the Sun" Do You Love the Sun  (2013)

- New Mendicants, "Sarasota" Into the Lime  (2014)

- New Mendicants, "A Very Sorry Christmas" 

- Roger Lion, "Twenty Thousand Times" Roger Lion  (2015)

- Pernice Brothers, "Mint Condition" Spread the Feeling  (2019)

- Pernice Brothers, "Skinny Jeanne" 

- Joe Pernice, "Lonely People" Richard  (2020)

- Joe Pernice, "Who Will You Believe" Who Will You Believe  (2024)

- Joe Pernice, "I Don't Need That Anymore (ft Neko Case)"

- Joe Pernice, "Deep Into the Dawn" Sonny I Was Wrong  (2026)

- Joe Pernice, "Black and the Blue"

--------------------------

To enjoy any Spotify ROUTES-cast, just open Spotify and search for "routesandbranches" to access this most recent playlist, as well as many others from past months.  Or click here for a preview:

IF YOU ONLY LiSTEN to ONE RECORD THiS WEEK (October 27, 2026)

ROUTES & BRANCHES

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

October 27, 2026

Scott Foley, purveyor of dust

Now that we're at the door of November, let's throw some darts at the wall and share a couple dates for our pending year-end favorites lists:

Nov 29 - Favorite Covers

Dec 6 - State Of the Genre

Dec 13 - Favorite Songs

Dec 16 - Christmas Christmas (Christmas)

Dec 20 - Favorite Albums

Even with that added to our calendar, we're still staring down no fewer than sixty (60) forthcoming releases on A Routes & Branches Guide To Feeding Your Monster. There is still a lot of work to do before we add our tidy bow to the year. 

IF YOU ONLY LiSTEN to ONE RECORD THiS WEEK

In preparation for this week's post, we went back to listen to Michael Nau's back catalog, from his days with Cotton Jones through his solo projects, including this year's smattering of more experimental sessions. Awash in Nau's lo-fi indie folk, it's easy to overlook the skill involved in crafting such a seemingly simple landscape. Produced with recurring collaborator Benny Yurco, Popfly (Suicide Squeeze) offers a masterclass in creative efficiency. 

"Jump Up" features a full band plus horns, but is set in motion with a feather-light touch. Like all of Michael Nau's work, the song arrives via a cloud of soft static in warm grey (to cite his own lyric), a cotton-lined sonic pocket within which instruments (most played by Nau) remain clean and distinct. Even synths and digital effects sound organic - the ambient croaks on "And Welcome Back": Now all the lines on the list are scratched / And all of the words are free. A bass-and-drum groove supports "First Drip", which also includes a shimmering chorus of voices. 

Like Richard Swift, Michael Nau's songs can be minimalist pop masterpieces, sugared with just a touch of soul. Popfly also adds a psychedelic layer. The title track repeats, Something's happened to my body / To my body, my ear won't make a sound. "Lost Station Hideaway" reads like an early Hiss Golden Messenger cut, unhurried but not rambling or indulgent. On "New Slack", he sings, Tossed all the pieces / In the space between / The beat and the drum machine. It's pure Michael Nau - loose-limbed studio candy. 

Popfly features members of the artist's family as accompanists, including wife Whitney McGraw with whom he created such charming music under the Cotton Jones moniker. The record closes with a heartfelt acoustic "Paper and Glue", presenting the voices of Nau and McGraw together again for a simple but sweet number. Michael Nau brings a unique approach to his songwriting and studio work, a creativity and originality that makes his new project a real understated pleasure. 

--------------------------