ROUTES-cast August 30, 2026

ROUTES & BRANCHES

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

August 30, 2026

Scott Foley, purveyor of dust

As we're sorting through our options for Tuesday's One Record review, we're grateful for the great assortment of LPs. What's been declared to be Fruition's final project stands as a worthy testament to their accomplishments. Alabama Shakes present some of the year's most satisfying indie soul, and Mama's Broke represents a wealth of 'grass and old timey stuff released this week. It's also heartening that both Son Volt and Jayhawks continue to produce really good stuff so deep into their respective runs. See also: Riley Downing and Dogwood Tales. We're strongly considering renaming our weekly review Are You Sure You Only Want To Listen To One Record This Week?!!  

ROUTES-cast August 30, 2026

^ Fruition, "Compass" Something More  (Bloodshot, 26)

- Mama's Broke, "Failing" Reunion  (Free Dirt, 26)

- Mountain Grass Unit, "Homebound Troubadour" Appalachian Smoke  (Dualtone, 26)

- Two Runner, "Punk Rock Bar" Porchlight  (Gar Hole, 26)

- Riley Downing, "Night Shift" Landfill Poetry  (Oh Boy, 26)

- True Mountain Laurel, "East Of Anything" Angel So Bad  (Birthday Cake, 26)

- Ian Noe, "Leeann" Canyon Falls Trailer Band  (Lock13, Sep 24)

- Willi Carlisle, "Marlboro Vinyasa" Universal Bubba  (Signature Sounds, Nov 8)

- Angela Autumn, "I Don't Think About You At All" Believer  (Gar Hole, Sep 11)

- Jeffrey Silverstein, "Patchouli" Doggone  (Full Time Hobby, Oct 23)

- Jude Brothers, "Handsome Little Fountains & Little Ancient Mountains" Dogwood Maiden Voyage  (Gar Hole, Sep 25)

- Sera Cahoone, "I'm No Fool" I've Missed You All These Years  (Sub Pop, 26)

- Kyle Kimbrell, "Paperbacks" Lonesome In the Sky  (Cornelius Chapel, Oct 16)  

- Rayland Baxter, "Better Man" True Violet  (ATO, Oct 23)

- Jayhawks, "Leap Of Faith" Sanctuary Park  (SHAM, 26)

- Son Volt, "Don Quixote's Dream" Sound Signal Serenades  (Transmit Sound, 26)

- Dogwood Tales, "I Could Never Be Without You" Every Star In Rockingham County  (Born Losers, 26)

- Greg Freeman, "Cahokia" All Set the Bone  (Transgressive, Oct 2)

- Manor Close, "Naked" Nobody Know's You're Here  (Manor Close, Oct 9)  D

- Lamplight, "Clover" Lick the Spoon Let It Soften  (Western Vinyl, Oct 23)  D

- Julia Jacklin, "Hardest Thing" The Gem  (4AD, Sep 25)

- Dead Gowns, "Vegas Dream" Vegas  (Mtn Laurel, Oct 23)  D

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

- Le Ren, "Going Through the Motions" Don't Be Funny Without Me  (Royal Mountain, 26)

- Iron & Wine, "California Sober" Hen's Teeth (Deluxe Edition)  (Sub Pop, Sep 22)  D

- Sunken Man, "Virginia Fog" Sunken Man  (Single Lock, Sep 25)

- Alabama Shakes, "Waist Deep" I Must Be Dreaming  (Island, 26)

- Angus & Julia Stone, "Cherry Farm" Karaoke Bar  (Stone, Sep 4)

- Luke Winslow-King, "In the Evening" single  (Bloodshot, 26)  D

- Will Hasell, "Roadkill Heart" Roadkill Heart  (Suddenly, 26)

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

WHAT's SO GREAT ABOUT THiS WEEK?!! (August 28, 2026)

ROUTES & BRANCHES

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

August 28, 2026

Scott Foley, purveyor of dust

Just about every Friday we convene here to suggest our five (5) favorite singles for the week. Consider it an advance peek or a promissory note for our Sunday Spotify ROUTES-cast. We also include video content where available, even as we admit that folks who trade in our kind of music aren't always great at the visual arts. 

As the most generous day for new music, Friday is our favorite day of the week. We spend much of it exuberantly scouring our sources for what's new. It's in this breathless spirit of music discovery that we offer this, what we call

WHAT's SO GREAT ABOUT THiS WEEK?!!

^Greg Freeman, "Cahokia" All Set the Bone  (Transgressive, Oct 2)

Hearing this second single from Freeman's October full-length assures us that it will take some pretty weak stuff to bump All Set the Bone from among our year-end favorites. After embracing anonymity, the video for "Cahokia" places Freeman front and center, both on stage and walking through New York City wearing bright red socks. 

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Ian Noe, "LeeAnn" Canyon Falls Trailer Band  (Lock13, Sep 24)

A terrific new single from Noe's eagerly-awaited third LP. The 70s country throwback features a Live Rust callout, along with some just-right piano and pedal steel. The young man has come a long way since winning Kentucky's Appalachian Star Search in 2007. 

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Angela Autumn, "I Didn't Think About You At All" Believer  (Gar Hole, Sep 11)

We've been anticipating Angela Autumn's first widely-released collection for several months. This homemade video features the songwriter posing upon moss while wearing a bright red cowboy hat that she might or might not have bedazzled. It's a decidedly quirk-forward presentation. 

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Willi Carlisle, "Marlboro Vinyasa" Universal Bubba  (Signature Sounds, Nov 6)

Carlisle's forthcoming double album is produced by Tyler Childers, and features members of his band. The preliminary results seem to expand upon Carlisle's sound, exchanging folk for country. Per the songwriter, the inspiration for his new single came while visiting a bar associated with Davenport's Raccoon Motel, where yoga classes were offered on the sticky floor. 

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

The former purveyor of Cotton Jones has released a stream of impressively eclectic music this year, stuff that he'd written and recorded but is just getting around to sharing. Popfly seems more an official project, rumored to feature supporting vocals from Nau's elusive partner Whitney McGraw. Per the record's advance: Radiant folk melodies, tape-warped textures, and flashes of everyday wonder coexist in perfect balance. 

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A ROUTES & BRANCHES GUiDE to FEEDiNG YOUR MONSTER (August 27, 2026)

A ROUTES & BRANCHES GUiDE to FEEDiNG YOUR MONSTER

good news about good noise

August 27, 2026

Scott Foley, purveyor of dust

Tomorrow (Friday, August 28) may be the busiest release date of the year. Visit A Routes & Branches Guide To Feeding Your Monster for a full account of what'll be landing on our digital shelves. As for the coming weeks, we've recently added new stuff from the prolific Benjamin Tod. His September 4 project, provocatively titled Country Is Dead, will feature a collection of covers. The long lost Sam Baker returns on September 18 with Survivor, produced with Rodney Crowell. Make a calendar note on October 9 for a posthumous Todd Snider collection. Aimless Records presents My Second Rodeo, featuring unheard recordings from the treasured songwriter. Following a pair of singles, Rayland Baxter has set October 23 as the date for his next LP. ATO will present True Violet, the songwriter's first full album since 2022. That same day will serve as the release for the next Dead Gowns record. Expect Vegas courtesy of the Mtn Laurel label. 

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^ If you're looking for a reason for a good day, perhaps it will help to know that Big Thief has a new album on the horizon. A triple album?!! We'll direct you to Pitchfork, who made the announcement, then added additional details about the Ryman concert where Adrianne Lenker and co. played Horsepower in its entirety, joined at times by Gillian Welch, Iris Dement, Lucinda Williams and others. A triple album ...

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For the price of your email address, you can check out Vulture's new interview with Charley Crockett regarding the whole tiresome beef with Jack White. What with all the interviews and answering to accusations, it's been weeks since Crockett's last LP. 

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Of course, Willi Carlisle will be touring behind the release of November 6's Universal Bubba double LP. A man with his heart in a good place, Carlisle will also be making room at his shows for mutual aid groups, nonprofits, and unions from stop to stop. See more about this call for Bubbas In the Community at Broadway World. 

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Forget about Geese (just for a sec). Westside Cowboy is this week's big new thing! Declaring the band's It Goes On as among the year's best albums, Consequence Of Sound invites the British quartet for a CoSigns Interview. Westside Cowboy has branded their very slightly twangy indie rock Britainicana ...

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Long as we're lounging about at Consequence, let's catch up on Geese (see, we told you just a sec). The site updates us on frontguy Cameron Winter's upcoming At Carnegie Hall release. As it turns out, renowned documentarian Paul Thomas Anderson was lurking in the wings, and will unleash a film of the same name to coincide with the LP. 

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In our Dollars For a Good Cause department, big praise to the Dear Life label and Little Mazarn, who have assembled Sing Across the Borderline, a 42-song collection to benefit the Big Bend Conservation Alliance. Visit Bandcamp to download the sprawling thing, to find out more about the Alliance, and to sign a petition. 

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Way back in May, Nora Kelly and her band released So Wrong For So Long. Americana UK offers a profile and an interview with the Canadian bandleader. 

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So much gossip these days in our kind of music. It apparently pays to stop by People Magazine online. They have the exclusive pics of the week's Royal Bluegrass Wedding between Molly Tuttle and Ketch Secor of Old Crow Medicine Show. We're thinking Happily Ever After, without a doubt (see, f'rinstance, Amanda Shires feat. Jason Isbell, or Steve Earle and _______________). 

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There's a pretty good chance that your local public library card permits you access to the New York Times (among so many other things). Or perhaps you already have a subscription to NYT online? Either way, you'll want to take a look at their new profile of Alabama Shakes, whose reunion record, I Must Be Dreaming, comes out Friday (tomorrow (Aug 28)). 

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Now if you'll excuse us, we have 82 new releases to preview ...

LOOKBACK MACHiNE: Gillian Welch & David Rawlings

ROUTES & BRANCHES

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

August 26, 2026

Scott Foley, purveyor of dust

We're continuing to dabble in the pantheon this week, assessing the songs of some of the more prominent and mainstream artists in our kind of music. For this Episode, we're celebrating the essential collaborative genius of Gillian Welch and David Rawlings. 

Upon its 1996 release, Revival hit like a hammer, Welch's ages-old voice and timeless songs creating such an immediate impression, like a record we'd known for years. Along with Hell Among the Yearlings and 2001's Time (the Revelator), Gillian Welch and David Rawlings were responsible for arguably one of the most impactful three-record runs in the history of our kind of music. The sheer quantity and quality of the duo's music during this time only became more evident with the 2020 unearthing of the Boots volumes, featuring a treasury of unreleased numbers. While these were termed outtakes and demos, much of the music in that box was as good as anything from the proper LPs. 

Nothing was included in our list from 2020's All the Good Times, a collection focusing on covers and trad cuts. We also chose not to include anything from Rawlings' own solo work, even as his contributions under the Gillian Welch name are essential. 

GiLLiAN WELCH & DAViD RAWLiNGS: thirty favorites

- "Orphan Girl" Revival  (1996)

- "Paper Wings" 

- "Tear My Stillhouse Down"

- "Acony Bell"

- "Caleb Meyer" Hell Among the Yearlings  (1998)

- "My Morphine"

- "I'm Not Afraid To Die"

- "Revelator" Time (The Revelator)  (2001)

- "My First Lover"

- "Dear Someone"

- "Elvis Presley Blues"

- "Everything Is Free"

- "Look At Miss Ohio" Soul Journey  (2003)

- "Wayside/Back In Time"

- "Wrecking Ball"

- "Way It Goes" Harrow & the Harvest  (2011)

- "Hard Times"

- "455 Rocket" Boots No 1: Official Revival Bootleg  (2016)

- "Wichita" 

- "DryTown"

- "Strange Isabella" Boots No 2: Lost Songs Vol 1  (2020)

- "Valley Of Tears"

- "Rambling Blade" Boots No 2: Lost Songs Vol 2  (2020)

- "Hundred Miles" 

- "I Just Want You To Know"

- "Sin City" Boots No 2: Lost Songs Vol 3  (2020)

- "City Girl" 

- "Peace In the Valley" 

- "Empty Trainload Of Sky" Woodland  (2024)

- "Hashtag" 

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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 (August 25, 2026)

ROUTES & BRANCHES

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

August 25, 2026

Scott Foley, purveyor of dust

The heck with this week. Has anyone taken a look at NEXT week's release calendar?! New full lengths on the way from (deep breath) Alabama Shakes, Dogwood Tales, Fruition, Jayhawks, Mama's Broke, Riley Downing, Son Volt and more! We'd be happy and justified in writing about any one of those. And that's just the stuff we know about, not to mention any unexpected surprises. 

Okay, so this week we gave some consideration to new projects from Brennan Wedl, Squirrel Flower, and Wild Pink, before deciding that our time would be best spent on Lambchop. 

IF YOU ONLY LiSTEN to ONE RECORD THiS WEEK

A couple years ago we visited a nearby record store for the first time. Just for the sake of orientation, we asked if they had anything from Lambchop. The person at the counter responded, You mean the little puppet? No. No sir, we do not mean the little puppet. 

Lambchop deserves better. Kurt Wagner has spent more than thirty years challenging our expectations of qualities such as beauty, normalcy, roots, and outsider. Early projects found Lambchop lumped in with the mid-90s alt.country bin, at best an exceptionally loose assessment. Increasingly, Wagner was experimenting with folk, soul, and studio manipulation, cloaking his typically simple songs with beats and interesting digital backdrops. Even if albums weren't always entirely successful, nobody could accuse Lambchop of being dull. 

After so many years fiddling in the studio, Punching the Clown arrives as the most refreshingly normal project Kurt Wagner and company have undertaken in recent memory. Which might mean it's actually the most unexpected. The premise of Punching pairs acoustic songs with choral lined-out singing courtesy of the Eau Claire Vocal Sextet. Arranged by Blake Morgan, while these harmonies are rooted in worship, they largely serve a textural purpose here, like a subtle breeze of voices following Wagner's lead. 

From the man himself: In early 2024 I heard a song on the radio on my way to get some gas. Just a minimal single chord strummed banjo and a small group of voices. It seemed perfect in the moment as the moment became perfect in itself ... I wanted to make a record that emulated this kind of music.

Throughout Lambchop's oeuvre, Kurt Wagner's basic songs have remained consistent, wry and eliptical lyrics delivered in his unsteady, dry-as-leaves drawl. On the album's opener, "Just West Of Nicollet", he sings Let the windows stay open / In the wild Mid West / There's things in Minnesota / It's the wildest place that I've found yet. Accompanied by Justin Vernon's banjo and Andrew Broder's guitar, the choral waves rise and fall, wax and wane, cresting briefly only towards the song's close. "Weakened" adds minor studio burbles and manipulation, with Wagner possibly narrating the proceedings: Things had gotten peculiar / The grainy underwater / Singing sounds in his head. 

Punching the Clown doesn't plop us in the pews by any means. This isn't The Gospel According To Lambchop. On the title cut, the chorale answers Wagner's I'm trying not to sound like I'm punching the clown with their own Wait, what the fuck. Nevertheless, there is a curious juxtaposition between the formality of the vocal arrangements and the folky informality of Lambchop's acoustic songs. The pairing is most mutually complimentary on "New World Wave" or "Cigar", pieces that invest the choir with a more active role: I'll meet you at Benton Chapel / Let it all go down / To the holy town / And share a lot of singing. 

While the addition of the Vocal Sextet sets the plot for the project, the theme lies more with Kurt Wagner's voice and Vernon's banjo. For those of us who have followed Lambchop for years across new settings and experiments, Punching the Clown is actually a breath of fresh air, allowing us access once again to Wagner straight, no (or little) chaser. Once again, we're left with the recurring questions of beauty and normalcy. The line-singing is beautiful at times, and we wouldn't be listening if there wasn't a base attraction to Lambchop's outsider folk. Time will no doubt see the collaborators following a new distraction (and we'll be there for it). For today, we're willing to brand Punching the Clown among Lambchop's more successful dalliances, a quietly engaging push-and-pull between minimalism and something more. Like a Kool-Aid smile in a scallop shell / We're cracking up in the kitchen / I'm overweight, you're overwhelmed / But it's good ...

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ROUTES-cast August 23, 2026

ROUTES & BRANCHES

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

August 23, 2026

Scott Foley, purveyor of dust

ROUTES-cast August 23, 2026

^ Brennan Wedl, "High Priestess" Brennan Wedl  (Anti, 26)

- Pieta Brown, "Nothin' But Trouble" Dreamin' Of  (Righteous Babe, 26)

- Ken Pomeroy, "Sentimental Lady" Tonight's News EP  (Rounder, 26)

- Brothers Comatose, "High Hoping" single  (Swamp Jam, 26)  D

- Billy Strings, "10,000 Miles From a Friend" So Much For Goodbyes  (Reprise, Aug 28)

- Buddy Miller, "As Long As I Have You" Buddy Miller  (New West, Sep 11)

- Katie Pruitt, "Aftermath" Fools For the Fleeting  (Rounder, Sep 18)

- Lawrence Rothman, "Stable" Here Lies Love/Sawdust To Stardust  (KRO, Sep 25)

- Pony Bradshaw, "Jukebox Oblivion" Ode To Humidity  (Dogs Of the South, 26)

- Ray Wylie Hubbard, "Cassette Mix Tape" Reel 2 Reel 4 Real  (WylieWorld, 26)

- Benjamin Tod, "Waiting For a Train" Country Is Dead  (Tod, Sep 4)  D

- Hollis Brown, "Garage Days" single  (Hollis Brown, 26)  D

- Yawpers, "Company Man" Teething  (DTTW, Sep 4)

- Jared Hart, "Law Of Subtraction" Midnight Motel  (Mt Crushmore, Oct 28)  D

- Small Pond, "Silver Coin" Soft Burn  (Small Pond, Oct 21)  D

- Squirrel Flower, "Cleveland" Say a Prayer To the Gods Of Getting Going  (Polyvinyl, 26)

- OK Cowgirl, "God Made a Farmer" Rhinestone Cowgirl  (Easy Does It, 26)

- Wild Pink, "Still Coming Down" Still Coming Down  (Fire Talk, 26)

- Nicole Atkins, "Trippin' On Teardrops" Drama  (Sun, Sep 17)

- Leon Bridges, "Take It Over" Happiness Anytime  (Columbia, Sep 25)

- Lambchop, "Just West Of Nicollet" Punching the Clown  (Merge, 26)

- Hudson Freeman, "I-40" single  (Mom+Pop, 26)  D

- Big Trouble, "Mel" On Elephant Hill  (Royal Oakie, Sep 18)  D

- Attention Bird Utopia, "Mitzrayim" Mitzrayim EP  (ABU, 26)  D

- Jake Xerxes Fussell, "Boney" The Old Beloved Path  (Fat Possum, Sep 18)

- Ruby Of Thanks, "Shadow" Before You Turn Into a Dog  (Woodsist, Sep 18)

- James Eichman, "If I Talk Loud Enough" St Catherine Street  (Eichman, 26)

- Jude Brothers, "Desire & Devotion" Dogwood Maiden Voyage  (Gar Hole, Sep 25)  D

- Will Hasell, "Spindrift" Roadkill Heart  (Suddenly, 26)  D

- John Prine, "All For the Love Of a Girl" Found Dogs  (Oh Boy, Oct 8)

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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?!! (August 21, 2026)

ROUTES & BRANCHES

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

August 21, 2026

Scott Foley, purveyor of dust

Some weeks there are more interesting singles than there are full album releases. This week flips that equation, with a handful of very good LPs landing on our digital shelves, but not a bunch of tempting singles. Neverthless, we persist, and we've tracked down five (5) neat songs for your Friday festivity, many of them replete with distracting videos. On account of a busy day, we're going to just plop these down here without comment for the moment. We'll add clever notes as/if time permits. We're assuming here you enjoy our pithy asides. Much like Jude Brothers (above) assumes you enjoy harp playing and puppets. 

WHAT's SO GREAT ABOUT THiS WEEK?!!

^ Jude Brothers, "Desire & Devotion"  Dogwood Maiden Voyage  (Gar Hole, Sep 25)

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Jake Xerxes Fussell, "Boney" The Old Beloved Path  (Fat Possum, Sep 18)

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Nicole Atkins, "Trippin' On Teardrops" Drama  (Sun, Sep 17)

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Small Pond, "Silver Coin"  Soft Burn  (Small Pond, Oct 21)

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Squirrel Flower, "Cleveland" Say a Prayer To the Gods Of Getting Going  (Polyvinyl, 26)

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