June 21, 2020
Scott Foley, purveyor of dust
One of our regular stops in traipsing the nets is Bandcamp. The site is more artist-driven than iTunes or Spotify, and during these plague months, they have featured days where they've waived their commission fees or directed profits towards social justice organizations like Black Lives Matter. Fortunately, Bandcamp is also a fine resource for music discovery. There are music blogs that dedicate recurring review space to stuff that's only available through the site. The past couple weeks alone have seen excellent full releases from Tommy Alexander, Joe Pernice, Mekons, Twain and Jason Isbell & Amanda Shires, Live at Brooklyn Bowl Nashville. While each and every one of these is worth the price of admission, none of them are available outside of Bandcamp.
But let's redirect our attention to an album that can be tracked down wherever music matters. Perhaps nothing this year has resonated with me on a more visceral level than Country Westerns' full length debut (Fat Possum, Jun 26). Buzzing and pounding, driving and jangling, no song straying far beyond the three minute mark, it's evocative of the college radio heyday and bands like Replacements and Meat Puppets.
The trio assembled in Nashville, hailing from other worthy acts such as Silver Jews, the Weight and State Champion. After some time flying beneath the radar, they were spurred on to create a record in part by the late David Berman, following producer Matt Sweeney to Brooklyn's Strange Weather Studios. In his intro to the band, Sweeney recalls their stated mission to make depressing songs with fun drums. There is understated magic in the sessions, an urgency and vitality of the sort that originally contributed to what would eventually become alternative country.
Not that your initial impressions will necessarily bring to mind Uncle Tupelo or Son Volt. It's harder than that, stuff with a sharper edge. Matter of fact, what is communicated on Country Westerns is closer in line with Stephen Malkmus' more dusty, organic material. Singer-guitarist Joseph Plunket snarls like Paul Westerberg on "It's Not Easy", and when his guitar sparks to life, the sound is fractured and primal. You might hear strains of REM's "One I Love" between the guitar lines of "Gentle Soul": I'm just a gentle soul / When you push me I'm willing to roll / I don't want to fight with you. The music of Country Westerns is evocative, but it is also relevant.
From Sleater-Kinney to Husker Du and Dinosaur Jr, there's a chemistry in the most successful indie trios that's hard to define. With Plunket simply backed by Sabrina Rush on bass and Brian Kotzur at drums, there is a remarkable amount of noise to songs like "Anytime". As we begin to test the waters of summer, it's the kind of melodic buzz that feels perfect blasting from unrolled windows. "Times to Tunnels" speaks to the simplicity of these eleven pieces too, songs that aren't dumbed down though they never work overly hard to make an impression. One reviewer called the tunes casually literate.
On a terrific Spotify playlist attributed to Joseph Plunket, acts like Rock*A*Teens share space with Magnolia Electric Co and Michael Hurley's "Sweet Lucy". And it's not hard to hear a common spirit with bands like Lee Bains III & Glory Fires or Arliss Nancy on "Close to Me". Loud guitars with a modicum of twang and spitting solos on songs like "It's On Me". Vocals this side of shredded. No matter how you triangulate the sound, where you draw the lines, Country Westerns is simply good rock 'n roll at a time when that's precisely what's needed. You'll know as soon as the needle lands on the first groove - the punk fueled passion of playing with a band. Cut down to the scar / That's how you got where you are / And you'll always wear the mark of every cheap scene, every bar ...
^ Country Westerns, "Gentle Soul" Country Westerns (Fat Possum, Jun 26)
- Blackberry Smoke, "Grits Ain't Groceries" Live From Capricorn Sound Studios (3 Legged, 20) D
- Kyle Nix, "Josephine" Lightning On the Mountain and Other Short Stories (Bossier, Jun 26)
- Jaime Wyatt, "Rattlesnake Girl" Neon Cross (New West, 20)
- Chuck Ragan, "Bedroll Lullabye" Till Midnight (SideOneDummy, 14)
- Israel Nash, "SpiritFalls (live)" Across the Water (Desert Folklore, 20)
- Ronnie Fauss, "Nothing Worth Saying" single (Normaltown, 20) D
- Daniel Donato, "Luck of the Draw" Young Man's Country (Cosmic Country, Aug 7) D
- Bonnie Whitmore, "Fuck With Sad Girls" Fuck With Sad Girls (Starlet & Dog, 16)
- Anna Tivel, "Worthless (acoustic)" The Question (Live and Alone) (Fluff & Gravy, 20)
- Dougie Poole, "Buddhist For a Couple Days" Freelancer's Blues (Wharf Cat, 20)
- Jeb Loy Nichols, "Season of Decline" Season of Decline EP (Compass, 20) D
- Michaela Anne, "Good Times" single (Yep Roc, 20)
- Possessed by Paul James, "Take Off Your Mask" Cold and Blind (Hillgrass Bluebilly, 08)
- Hellbound Glory, "Someone To Use" Pure Scum (Black Country Rock, 20)
- Elizabeth Cook, "Perfect Girls of Pop" Aftermath (Agent Love, Sep 11) D
- Colter Wall, "Western Swing & Waltzes" Western Swing & Waltzes and Other Punchy Songs (La Honda, Aug 28) D
- Cory Brannan, "Muhammed Ali" 12 Songs (Madjack, 06)
- Vincent Neil Emerson, "Road Runner (feat. Colter Wall)" single (La Honda, 20) D
- Will Hoge, "Overthrow" Tiny Little Movies (Edlo, Jun 26)
- Tessy Lou Williams, "Round and Round" Tessy Lou Williams (TLW, 20)
- Buffalo Tom, "Sundress" Sleepy Eyed (Megadisc, 95)
- Ray Wylie Hubbard, "Drink Till I See Double (feat. Paula Nelson & Elizabeth Cook)" Co-Starring (Big Machine, Jul 10)
- Corb Lund, "Never Not Had Horses" Agricultural Tragic (New West, Jun 26)
- Waylon Payne, "What a High Horse" Blue Eyes, the Harlot, the Queer, the Pusher & Me (Carnival, Sep 11)
- Pert Near Sandstone, "Hell I'd Pay" Rising Tide (PNS, 20)
- Mike & the Moonpies, "Heart a Home" Touch of You: Lost Songs of Gary Stewart (Prairie Rose, 20)
- Tommy Alexander, "I Blame Myself" Waves (Alexander, 20)
- Grant Lee Phillips, "Lowest Low" Lightning Show Us Your Stuff (Yep Roc, Sep 4)
- Richard Buckner, "Ed's Song" Devotion + Doubt (UMG, 97)
In addition to those terrific Bandcamp releases, this week brought more quality ear candy to the roster for A Routes & Branches Guide To Feeding Your Monster. Guitar wunderkind Daniel Donato will be wielding his Grateful Dead-influenced cosmic country when he releases Young Man's Country on August 7. We've been sharing singles from Jenny O's New Truth since it was announced several weeks ago. Her Mama Bird debut will have to wait until its new August 7 due date. Colter Wall's fourth full-length release is happening on August 28, when Western Swing & Waltzes and Other Punchy Songs is delivered by la Honda Records. We're pleased to announce that the legendary Dan Penn has made time for a record of his own, after serving behind countless other acts. Living On Mercy will land wherever music matters on August 28 courtesy of Last Music Co. It's coming on five years since Elizabeth Cook shared Exodus of Venus. She's finally announced Aftermath for September 11 via Agent Love. Finally, there's a call out for crowd funding to release what sounds like a stellar tribute to Neal Casal. Highway Butterfly: Songs of Neal Casal will feature contributions from Jaime Wyatt, Steve Earle, Beachwood Sparks and more. Here's your weekly ROUTES-cast:
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