ROUTES & BRANCHES  

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

May 5, 2019

Scott Foley, purveyor of dust

Caroline Spence launched the opening volley for her new Mint Condition record back in January, unleashing a single that set high expectations for what was to come.  You could make a good case that the anticipation for the Nashville writer's third album actually began a couple years ago, with the release of 2017's near-perfect Spades & Roses.  No need for hyperbole here - song after song, each a memorable gem from the caustic "Softball" to Spence's vulnerable masterpiece, "Southern Accident".  In addition to earning some coveted R&B airtime, the CD apparently caught Rounder Records' attention, as they're issuing Mint Condition.

All of which seems to be part of Caroline Spence's current trajectory.  To celebrate, she's apparently just doing more of what landed her here in the first place.  That is, delivering solid country-folk songs that quietly but confidently leave a listener ready for another round.  That first two-song single introduced us to "Long Haul" and the record's title track.  Both are imminently listenable, tuneful and timeless pieces that make an immediate impression.  Spence commits her nose to the proverbial grindstone on "Long Haul", declaring her intention to do what it takes to achieve a degree of Music City success: I crossed my T's and dotted my I's / And sold my soul to the 1-4-5.  Like Amanda Anne Platt or Lori McKenna, Spence shows a masterful ear for the poetry of the everyday, never overreaching or adding undue sparkle and shine to her verse.  Emmylou Harris christens "Mint Condition" with her backing vocals, a tender acoustic lovesong for the ages: Our bodies they age, wrinkle and tire / That feeling of comfort overtakes desire / I might have to learn to live here alone / But I'll love you through ash or through stone.

These are the two magnetic poles of Mint Condition, the thoughtful ballad and the upbeat roots rocker, both of which are flawlessly executed.  Spence's love songs skillfully sidestep the usual fare on songs like "Sit Here and Love Me".  The ballad's narrator acknowledges her own shadows, the clouds which might shroud her mood, but reassures her partner that they need not feel obligated to fix anything: I'm still someone you know / Please recognize my shadow / This is the same place from where I love you deeply.  Songs are shot through with such refreshing honesty and deeply felt sentiment.

It's also evident that Caroline Spence has achieved new degrees of confidence as a vocalist since 2015's debut, Somehow.  She's comfortable in her pocket on the spirited "Who's Gonna Make My Mistakes", applying enough twang 'n break without resorting to Nashville caricature.  And try the gorgeously downcast "Wait on the Wine" for an expressive delivery that rivals Patty Griffin in its dips and turns.  While she proved a capable vocalist on those earlier cuts, here she's as worthy a singer as a songwriter, capable of infusing each piece with the appropriate emotion and gravitas.

My own ear is perennially on the lookout for melody, my radar searching for the rare ability to pair tunefulness with expert turn-of-phrase.  I've found few more fulfilling songs this year than "What You Don't Know", boasting a propulsive rhythm and hook that will carve a home in your ears for days.  The Mint Condition sessions are produced and largely played by multi-instrumentalist Dan Knobler, ably backed by vocalists like Erin Rae, Ashley Ray and the superb Becky Warren, all giving the album a complete and full sound.  Overall, it's the sort of project that may find Caroline Spence mentioned in the same breath as Ashley McBryde or Lori McKenna, among the town's most valued writers.

- Field Medic, "henna tattoo" Fade Into the Dawn  (Run for Cover, 19)
- Vic Chesnutt, "Concord Country Jubilee" At the Cut  (Constellation, 09)
- Yawpers, "Where the Winter Ends" Human Question  (Bloodshot, 19)
- Lucette, "Deluxe Hotel Room" Deluxe Hotel Room  (Rock Creek, May 17)
^ Caroline Spence, "What You Don't Know" Mint Condition  (Rounder, 19)
- Felice Brothers, "Holy Weight Champ" Undress  (Yep Roc, 19)
- Jade Jackson, "Bottle It Up" Wilderness  (Anti, Jun 28)  D
- Sam Outlaw, "Shake a Heartache" Hat Acts  (Black Hills, 19)  D
- Delta Spirit, "Trashcan" Ode to Sunshine  (Rounder, 08)
- Frankie Lee, "In the Blue" Stillwater  (Frankie Lee, May 24)
- Drunken Prayer, "It Happens All the Time" Cordelia Elsewhere  (Deer Lodge, 19)
- Fruit Bats, "Gold Past Life" Gold Past Life  (Merge, Jun 21)
- Margo Price, "Hands of Time" Midwest Farmer's Daughter  (Third Man, 16)
- Chuck Mead, "Big Bear in the Sky" Close to Home  (Plowboy, Jun 28)  D
- Lukas Nelson & PotR, "Bad Case" Turn Off the News (Build a Garden)  (Fantasy, Jun 14)  D
- Calexico w/Iron & Wine, "Midnight Sun" Years to Burn  (Sub Pop, Jun 14)
- Tallest Man on Earth, "All I Can Keep Is Now" I Love You It's a Fever Dream  (Rivers/Birds, 19)
- Big Thief, "Century" UFOF  (4AD, 19)
- Brad Armstrong, "Bottle Flies" I Got No Place Remembers Me  (Cornelius Chapel, 19)
- Erin Enderlin, "Broken" Chapter One: Tonight I Don't Give a Damn  (Enderlin, 19)  D
- Anderson East, "Sorry You're Sick (live)" Alive in Tennessee  (Low Country, 19)
- Kris Kristofferson, "Gettin' By High and Strange" Border Lord  (Sony, 72)
- Damhnait Doyle, "Liquor Store Flowers" Liquor Store Flowers  (Doyle, 19)
- Hackensaw Boys, "Let's Take Us a Night Ride" Fireproof House of Sunshine  (Free Dirt, Jun 21)  D
- Ian Noe, "Letter to Madeline" Between the Country  (National Treasury, May 31)
- Bonnie Prince Billy, "Easy Does It" Lie Down in the Light  (Drag City, 08)
- Erika Wennerstrom, "Be Here to Love Me" Tribute to Townes Van Zandt  (Partisan, 19)  D
- Donovan Woods, "I Ain't Ever Loved No One (feat.Tenille Townes)" Other Way  (Meant Well, 19)  D
- Anna Tivel, "Two Strangers" The Question  (Fluff & Gravy, 19)
- Karen Dalton, "When a Man Loves a Woman" In My Own Time  (Light in the Attic, 71)

This week brought news of forthcoming projects from Violent Femmes, whose 1983 debut still sounds new and perfectly dangerous.  One time dB and longtime producer Chris Stamey set the table for a jazz-inspired double record featuring vocals from Caitlin Cary, Don Dixon, Nnenna Freelon and more.  We added new release dates for Jade Jackson's sophomore CD, as well as the next offering from Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real.  Finally, we received news of Bill Callahan's first album since 2013.  Let's celebrate with this week's ROUTES-cast:

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