ROUTES & BRANCHES
featuring the very best of americana, alt.country and roots music
March 22, 2020
Scott Foley, purveyor of dust

As a ravenous consumer of music, I'm grateful that the forces that have put a halt to nearly ever other aspect of our lives haven't yet silenced the production of new recordings.  Of course, time will tell exactly how this plays out in the weeks and months to come.  The artists' inability to generate income via concerts can't help but impact things down the road.  This adds extra emphasis on the importance of supporting an artist by purchasing their albums and other merchandise.  As of this Episode, some labels have decided to push back release dates on certain projects.

While it seems this week brought a fair amount of new stuff into the world, not much of it was our kind of music.  This gave us an opportunity to throw some extra light on records that have been released over the past several weeks.  The March 27 release date promises to bury us with new projects from Jessi Alexander, Waxahatchee, Clem Snide, Jesse Daniel and more.

Also reaching the virtual record bins next week is the fourth full-length from Lilly Hiatt, Walking Proof  (New West).  While her debut full-length, 2013's Let Down, portrayed her as a songwriter solidly in the americana lane, Hiatt's story since has followed her further afield as she's explored her own voice.  More typical roots instruments fought to be heard above electric guitars on 2015's Royal Blue, and 2017's career-defining Trinity Lane explored matters of addiction and identity.  "The Night David Bowie Died" and the title cut recalled Liz Phair as much as they did Lydia Loveless.

Back on her debut, Hiatt sang I'm 24 now / But I feel 35.  Years later, with the pressures and expectations of adulthood hard at her heels, we heard I'm 32 / I feel 23 / Got no husband next to me.  Walking Proof finds her nearing 36, outgrowing youthful indiscretion but not yet old enough to be dispensing wisdom.  And who among us is ever too old to avoid making new mistakes?

Walking Proof is produced by Lincoln Parish, a one-time member of Cage the Elephant who has also earned credits with Lissie, Lucinda Williams and others.  It's Parish's guitar that propels the sessions, along with the stringwork of John Condit and Hiatt herself.  The bright retro guitars of Trinity Lane have sharpened their edges here, suggesting a raw punk bite on "Little Believer", or even on the relatively inward-looking "Rae".  Hiatt presents a vulnerability on the latter, a piece in praise of her sister (what was also celebrated on her father John's "Georgia Rae").  The punk ethos lies not so much in superficial spit and fire, but rather in the immediacy and the unpracticed spirit that carries through many of the songs.

"P-town" recalls an unpleasant stay in Portland, Oregon, driven by those bluesy rock guitars and organ: We ignored each other that whole walk on the bridge / Don't you hate when people say / It is what it is.  Like the nearly cartoon colors that grace its jacket, Walking Proof demonstrates Lilly Hiatt's penchant for turning tuneful hooks as well.  "Brightest Star" is a singable rush of melody that pushes its way into your skin: Don't worry about that other guy / You just got the right tattoos she sings.

A select few guest stars light the corners of Hiatt's fourth disc, including Amanda Shires (whose own forthcoming album promises some decidedly pop production) and Aaron Lee Tasjan, whose guitar slices through "Little Believer".  A first on Lilly Hiatt's records, her father John adds barely-there backing vocals on "Some Kind of Drug".  But she has achieved a level of confidence in her career that it's her blood that is spilled between the grooves, and her own voice that shines above it all.  Still an atypical instrument, Lilly Hiatt has wrangled the wilder edges of her delivery, which sometimes sounds like a more roots-oriented strain of Amy Rigby.

Those roots haven't disappeared altogether.  They're most evident on "Drawl", a highlight piece that finds her paired with Shires: I know you've lost your temper / I know you've lost some friends / Don't you ever lose that drawl again.  "Candy Lunch" draws a near-perfect bead between Hiatt's pop and twang poles, perhaps demonstrating a dawning confidence in her own choices (musical and otherwise).

Lilly Hiatt's own touring plans have been somewhat scattered by our recent plague winds, including some promising dates with Hiss Golden Messenger.  She wrote in No Depression this week about the lessons of letting go that she's learning, her labor of love birthing a strong and beautiful collection at such an uncertain time.  Often, the most reliable moorings we can find as listeners are records such as Walking Proof.  The release places Hiatt in the rare company of artists who overflow the tired expectations of genre to hint at a sound all their own.

- Mapache, "I Just Steal Away and Pray" From Liberty Street  (Yep Roc, 20)
- Ron Pope, "San Miguel" Bone Structure  (Brooklyn Basement, 20)
- Nora Jane Struthers, "We Made It" Bright Lights Long Drives First Words  (Blue Pig, 20)
- Anthony da Costa, "Feet On the Dashboard" Feet On the Dashboard  (AntiFragile, Mar 27)
- Steve Dawson, "Anywhere You Landed" Funeral Bonsai Wedding  (Kernel Sound, 14)
- Gabe Lee, "Heartbreaker's Smile" Honky Tonk Hell  (Torrez, 20)
- Western Centuries, "Space Force" Call the Captain  (Free Dirt, Apr 3)
- Brandy Clark, "Bad Car" Your Life Is a Record  (Warner, 20)
- Giant Sand, "Wind Blown Waltz" Tucson  (Fire, 12)
- Daniel Romano, "Nerveless (live)" Okay Wow  (You've Changed, Mar 27)  D
- Pokey LaFarge, "Lucky Sometimes" Rock Bottom Rhapsody  (New West, Apr 10)
- Swamp Dogg, "I'd Rather Be Your Used To Be" Sorry You Couldn't Make It  (Joyful Noise, 20)
- Thrift Store Cowboys, "Lean Into the Sway" Light Fighter  (TSC, 10)
- Black Joe Lewis, "Fire Dollars" single  (Color Red, 20)  D
- American Aquarium, "The Luckier You Get" Lamentations  (New West, May 1)
- Drive-by Truckers, "Grievance Merchants" The Unraveling  (ATO, 20)
- Early James, "Blue Pill Blues" Singing For My Supper  (Easy Eye, 20)  D
- Sam Doores, "This Ain't a Sad Song" Sam Doores  (New West, 20)
- Gretchen Peters, "Why You Been Gone So Long" Night You Wrote That Song  (Scarlet Letter, May 15)
- Nathaniel Rateliff, "Time Stands" And It's Still Alright  (Stax, 20)
- Waxahatchee, "Can't Do Much" Saint Cloud  (Merge, Mar 27)
- Hiss Golden Messenger, "Southern Grammar" Lateness Of Dancers  (Merge, 14)
- Lucinda Williams, "Lost Girl" single  (BMG, 20)  D
- Jack Grelle, "Mess Of Love" If Not Forever  (Grelle, Apr 17)  D
- Sarah Siskind, "A Little Bit Troubled" Modern Appalachia  (Soundly, Apr 17)
- Danny Barnes, "Mule" Man On Fire  (ATO, 20)
- Katie Pruitt, "Wishful Thinking" Expectations  (Rounder, 20)
- Maria McKee, "I Never Asked" La Vita Nuova  (Fire, 20)
- Roadside Graves, "Winter In Tennessee" If Shacking Up Is All You Want To Do  (Autumn Tone, 10)
- Magnolia Electric Co, "Talk To Me Devil Again" Fading Trails  (Secretly Canadian, 06)

Earlier ROUTES-casts have been removed; subscribe to our Spotify page to keep up with all our new playlists!