featuring the very best of americana, alt.country and roots music
June 16, 2019
Scott Foley, purveyor of dust
Woods is originally from Knoxville, though he keeps most of his stuff in Nashville these days. His new collection comes on the heels of a pair of reputation-earning records, 2014's With Love From Brushy Mountain and 2016's How to Survive. Atop songs like "Deadman's Blues" and "American Way", and behind years of hard touring, the writer spread his gospel, a country-based sound with a heart for the working class and the barely-hanging-on.
Regarded alongside an earlier collection, The Matt Woods Manifesto, the picture that emerges is that of a singer-songwriter giving himself to his craft, cultivating his skills and readying himself for a step into the light. One would hope that that moment has arrived with the dawning of Natural Disasters, a set that presents Woods as more of a bandleader than a troubadour, more of a Southern rocker than a singer-songwriter. The album shares the name of the backing band with whom he's been sharing the stage of late, following years of touring as one guy with a guitar. While those previous releases featured some explosive moments when Woods hinted at more of a roots rock evolution, here he gives full rein to his inner Bob Seger. Or Tom Petty, or John Hiatt if you will.
Set the proverbial needle on "Hey Heartbreaker" to witness the full force of Matt Woods' new LP. Guitars chime and echo like relics from the Athens, Georgia renaissance, the song's upbeat melody bouncing itself straight into your ears where it may lodge for the rest of the day: Hey heartbreaker / Don't go thinking I don't think of you / Every day you're not around. While it's the most immediate cut on Natural Disasters, it's hardly the exception. An ode to a vehicle from days gone by, "The Dream" explodes with battering drums and slashing guitars. While the vehicle serves as the object of Woods' affections (Thousand dollar paint job / Blood red white and blue), the song and the album are masterful in crafting a picture of a small town and a fading way of life.
Call it a "Drive-Thru Town", one of those quasi-mythical locales folks spend their childhood dreaming to escape, only hoping to retrieve in their latter years: What was lost ain't coming back / No matter what words you pray with the faith you've kept intact. Like Springsteen or Isbell, Matt Woods demonstrates a great compassion for the souls ensnared in these dire straits. On "Devil Drinks Scotch" he imagines them at the mercy of a tipsy devil. They scratch and claw to achieve some traction, but find themselves circling the drain in a dead end cycle of birth-school-work-death. Woods asks, Who pays the rent on the soul of a man, punctuated by Skynyrd- inspired guitar fire.
In the great tradition of heartland rockers, Matt Woods injects his performance with a giant beating heart. He draws from that working class mythos, but opts for inspiration rather than pity, never abandoning his characters to stereotype. More importantly, he includes himself among this community. "Blue-Eyed Wanderer" portrays Woods reflecting on years of tilting against windmills: I keep getting caught on barbed wire thoughts / Of old girlfriends and wrong things I've said. It's a rage-against-the-storm anthem on a record overflowing with them, big-hearted rockers driven by his talented band and corralled by producer Joey Kneiser. There's a fullness even on the CD's rare ballad, the lovely "My Southern Heart", a more personal piece that shines with Mike Webb's accordion.
Matt Woods has worked hard to earn the trust of his fans, a genuine voice from an artist who gives his all. There's a larger-than-life quality to Natural Disaster, a whole-heartedness that exceeds what one man can do with a guitar and a battered suitcase of good songs. The collection's closer, "Corner of the World", delivers a fitting message of seizing life and finding a place to make your stand. Woods sings from experience, If you can't walk on water, drink the wine. It's a rousing final lap on an album full of victories, a celebration of an artist acknowledging the storm while reaching into the light.
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WHAT's SCOTT READING?
Fact is, I'm always reading. Just not always reading books about our kind of music. Today, however, I can share a recommendation for More Fun in the New World: The Unmaking and Legacy of LA Punk, by John Doe with Tom DeSavia. Folks might remember Doe's first book in his oral history of LA punk, Under the Big Black Sun. Whereas that 2016 book chronicled the gathering and the rise of what would become West coast punk, More Fun follows that story to its conclusion, as a homespun, grass roots phenomenon exploded throughout the world. Like Doe's first volume, the tale is told by the artists who made the noise, many of whom were instrumental in setting the stage for what would become alt.country: Louie Perez of Los Lobos, Sid Griffin of Long Ryders, Peter Case, and Maria McKee from Lone Justice. A genuine love for the early LA punk scene shines through each of these accounts, with key figures like Jeffrey Lee Pierce, Top Jimmy and the Kinman brothers walking through scene after scene. The name dropping is so rich, you'll want to read More Fun with Spotify at the ready, exploring long lost outfits like Blood on the Saddle, The Textones, Rhythm Pigs and more. While reading Jane Wiedlin as she recounts the Go-Go's worldwide shenanigans isn't as fun as hearing how they scrapped together their first shows, Doe does an admirable job painting a picture of an important but largely forgotten scene from the annals of popular music.
- Horse Feathers, "Belly of June" Thistled Spring (Kill Rock Stars, 10)
- Joan Shelley, "Coming Down for You" single (No Quarter, 19) D
- Chris Staples, "Old Friend" Holy Moly (Barsuk, Jun 28)
- Jordan Moser, "The Devil" Long Night (Keeled Scales, Jul 26) D
- Hiss Golden Messenger, "I Need a Teacher" Terms of Surrender (Merge, Sep 20) D
- Mike Frazier, "Southern Decay" Where the Valley Kissed the Sky (Geneva, 19)
- Calexico w/Iron & Wine, "What Heaven's Left" Years to Burn (Sub Pop, 19)
- Jamestown Revival, "Something That You Know" San Isabel (Jamestown, 19)
- Kelsey Waldon, "High in Heels" Goldmine (Waldon, 14)
- Purple Mountains, "Darkness and Cold" Purple Mountains (Drag City, Jul 12)
- Bill Callahan, "Lonesome Valley" Shepherd in a Sheepskin Vest (Drag City, 19)
- Erin Rae, "Gold Plated" single (Single Lock, 19) D
- Michael Fracasso, "Deal's a Deal" Big Top (Lucky Hound, 19)
- Golden Smog, "Glad and Sorry" Down by the Old Mainstream (Ryko, 95)
- Eilen Jewell, "Crawl" The Gypsy (Signature Sounds, Aug 16) D
- Lillie Mae, "You've Got Other Girls For That" Other Girls (Third Man, Aug 16) D
- Avett Brothers, "High Steppin'" Closer Than Together (American, Oct 4) D
- Green on Red, "Little Things in Life" Scapegoats (China, 91)
- Jesse Malin, "Strangers and Thieves" Sunset Kids (Wicked Cool, Aug 30)
- Reckless Kelly, "God Forsaken Town (live)" Bulletproof Live (No Big Deal, Jun 21)
- Sturgill Simpson, "Dead Don't Die" single (Atlantic, 19) D
- Lucinda Williams, "Jailhouse Tears" Little Honey (UMG, 08)
- Shane Smith & the Saints, "We Were Something" Hail Mary (Geronimo West, Jun 28)
- Michaela Anne, "By Our Design" Desert Dove (Yep Roc, Sep 27) D
- Will Johnson, "Cornelius" Wire Mountain (Keeled Scales, Sep 27) D
- Erin Durant, "Rising Sun" Islands (Keeled Scales, Jun 28)
- Shinyribs, "Highway of Diamonds" Fog & Bling (Mustard Lid, 19)
- Paul Cauthen, "Cocaine Country Dancing" Room 41 (Lightning Rod, Sep 6) D
- Whiskey Myers, "Die Rockin'" Whiskey Myers (Wiggy Thump, Sep 27) D
- Los Straitjackets, "I'll Go Down Swinging (feat. Exene Cervenka)" Sing Along With (Straitjackets, 01)
Make room. Make room! It's been a good week for A Routes & Branches Guide To Feeding Your Monster, where we keep tabs on record release dates so you won't have to. We added Story of a Fish, from Jeremy Ivey - the husband of Margo Price, who also produces the sessions. We've been on watch for an announcement from the Avetts about their next CD. This week Seth, Scott 'n co declared an October 4 release plan for Closer Than Together. Hard on the heels of last year's Lifers, Cody Jinks is expected to unleash a follow-up on that same Friday, September 27th is Whiskey Myers day. It's also Michaela Anne day, but more importantly it's Will Johnson day, as the busy writer will team with the suddenly busy Keeled Scales label for Wire Mountain. Also in September (the Gateway To Fall), we've set a place at the table for Paul Cauthen and for Terms of Surrender, Hiss Golden Messenger's next missive. Before Summer's done, Eilen Jewell is planning to share The Gypsy with fans, on the same day Lillie Mae's Other Girls is expected on Third Man Records. Been a minute since we heard from Nels Andrews, a spell that will end in August, which also features a 20th anniversary reissue of My Morning Jacket's essential Tennessee Fire. Don't be surprised if much of this shows up in your weekly ROUTES-cast:
> ROUTES-casts from 2019 have been removed; subscribe to our Spotify page to keep up with all our new playlists!
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