featuring the very best of americana, alt.country and roots music
December 13, 2020
Scott Foley, purveyor of dust
What a fascinating year for music. This week brought surprise releases from Sturgill Simpson and Ryan Adams (not to mention Taylor Swift, who I don't represent here, but who I regard as the strongest pure writer of her generation). I alluded to this last Episode, artists riding waves of creativity, sharing singles and collaborations, covers and full records. We'll never know what a pandemic-free 2020 might've been like if the music world were allowed to continue unfettered. Instead, the year has likely changed music as we know it, from production to marketing and consumption.
Back in pre-plague 2018, New Zealand singer-songwriter Marlon Williams tripped across Kacy & Clayton's "Springtime of the Year" and reached out to the Canadian duo with a proposal to collaborate. Cousins from Saskatchewan, Kacy Anderson and Clayton Linthicum began their careers firmly in the trad music fold, Anderson's voice echoing British folk singer Sandy Denny. Since their debut, Kacy & Clayton have strayed from that base, incorporating less traditional instrumentation and arrangements from one album to the next. They worked alongside producer Jeff Tweedy on 2017's Siren Song and the subsequent Carrying On. The result of this unlikely collaboration is Plastic Bouquet, just released via the New West label.
It's a story that deepens in fascination the more listeners are familiar with the range of Marlon Williams' previous musical output. Raised in the Maori tradition, the eclectic artist has never settled long with any single style. He's as comfortable with rock as he is with roots and folk. Like Jeff Buckley or Rufus Wainwright, Williams' vocal delivery is striking, a somewhat theatrical and fully expressive instrument with few other contemporary equals. Kacy & Clayton and Marlon Williams come together on these sessions not only from different ends of the Earth, but from divergent musical worlds as well.
A true collaboration, Plastic Bouquet is produced by Williams and Kacy Anderson, with lead vocals and songwriting duties shared between the two. While Clayton Linthicum typically contributes his voice to Kacy & Clayton projects, he devotes his talents here to musical expression, alongside Andy Beisel on bass and Mike Silverman on percussion. The collection opens with "Isn't It", a touch of angular electric while Anderson and Williams share a mic. Kacy Anderson's voice earns its place alongside that of Courtney Marie Andrews for its beautiful loops and breaks.
The songs that flow from the pen of Marlon Williams betray the marks of a man who isn't beholden to the rules of genre. Where "I'm Gonna Break It" nods to country, with a brief barroom piano break, "Light of Love" borrows from hazy 60s folk-rock, Anderson's vocal soaring and fluttering to impressive heights. On the former, he croons, If I ever had a job I don't remember when / Lord I need to lose a job to find the man. One of Plastic Bouquet's most stirring moments, "Arahura" is a noir folk ballad, a tribute to a New Zealand river that features an otherworldly delivery from Williams.
The CD honors Kacy Anderson's bold and unexpectedly diverse songwriting as well. "I'm Unfamiliar" opens with a Augie Meyers garage organ, with the singer getting to know her guest: Would you walk with me out in the January cold / Won't you tell me what the Winter's like down in the Southern hemisphere. Perhaps true to its title, Plastic Bouquet also offers some of Anderson's most decidedly country material to date. Linthicum's pedal steel floats through the classic country duet of "Old Fashioned Man". Williams follows Anderson's scathing verse with one last attempt at winning her sweet company: Why must you take me for granted / Just think of what I could provide / Believe me there's no obligations / But I can't stand to be denied.
Plastic Bouquet is an efficient album, presenting its eleven tunes in just under half an hour. There's a real generosity, however, in the trio's stylistic range. The early rock spirit of Williams' vocal emerges on "I Wonder Why", and songs like "Your Mind's Walking Out" wouldn't be out of place on an indie-folk playlist. And even in his supporting role, Clayton Linthicum's mastery of all these settings shouldn't be overlooked.
It's a lot to squeeze onto the marquee: Kacy & Clayton and Marlon Williams. And in the end, like many other successful collaborations, the final product is greater than the sum of its parts. It's more traditional and rural than Williams' usual wide-ranging flair. It's also looser and more corporeal than we're used to from Kacy & Clayton. But the true worth of Plastic Bouquet is in the twining of this pair of voices from 8000 miles apart. What doesn't quite make sense on paper becomes an unexpected demonstration of coming together and sharing space, during this time when there seems to be all too much distance between us.
Since we took a step back last Episode to survey our Favorite Songs of 2020, this week's ROUTES-cast is more crowded with new sounds than usual. A full 20 of the 30 songs are debuts (D), while the others are new singles, most from forthcoming records.
- Billy Allen & the Polllies, "People Turn Around" single (Single Lock, 20) D
- Menahan Street Band, "Midnight Morning" Exciting Sounds of the Menahan Street Band (DapTone, Feb 26) D
- Margo Price & Steve Earle, "Sister's Coming Home / Down at the Corner Beer Joint (live)" Willie Nelson American Outlaw (Blackbird, 20) D
- John Paul Keith, "How Can You Walk Away" Rhythm of the City (Wild Honey, Feb 19) D
- Shelby Lynne, "Sugarcane" The Healing: A-Tone Recordings (Extreme, 20) D
- Charles Ellsworth, "Max & Geraldine" Honeysuckle Summer (Burro Borracho, Mar 5) D
- Staves, "Satisfied" Good Woman (Nonesuch, Feb 5)
^ Kacy & Clayton with Marlon Williams, "Your Mind's Walking Out" Plastic Bouquet (New West, 20)
- Pony Bradshaw, "Sawtoothed Jericho" Less Glamor More Nutrients (Black Mt, Jan 29)
- Neal Casal, "Everything is Moving" single (Casal, 20) D
- Cody Jinks, "Chasin' That Neon Rainbow (live)" Red Rocks Live (Late August, 20) D
- Dalton Domino, "Both Feet" single (Domino, 20) D
- Steve Earle, "Champagne Corolla" JT (New West, Jan 4)
- Esther Rose, "Keeps Me Running" single (Father/Daughter, 20) D
- Ottoman Turks, "Vaquero" Ottoman Turks II (State Fair, Mar 5)
- Lucero, "When You Found Me" When You Found Me (Liberty & Lament, Jan 29)
- HC McEntire, "Til I Get It Right" single (Merge, 20) D
- Ryan Adams, "Birmingham" Wednesday (PaxAm, 20) D
- Drew Beskin, "Swimming in Bed" single (Super Canoe, 20) D
- Bailey Bigger, "Let's Call It Love" Let's Call It Love EP (Big Legal Mess, 20)
- James Steinle, "Three Darks Kings" Cold German Mornings (Steinle, 20) D
- Southern Culture on the Skids, "Whip It On Me" Kudzu Records Presents (Kudzu, 20) D
- Sturgill Simpson, "Hobo Cartoon" Cuttin' Grass Vol 2: Cowboy Arms Sessions (High Top Mt, 20) D
- Langhorne Slim, "Panic Attack" Strawberry Mansion (Dualtone, Jan 29)
- Michigan Rattlers, "Like a Kid" single (Massasauga, 20) D
- Miranda Lambert, "Misery & Gin (live)" Sing Me Back Home: Music of Merle Haggard (Blackbird, Dec 11) D
- Dr Dog, "Where's All the Time Go (live)" Live 2 (We Buy Gold, Jan 29)
- Bowerbirds, "Paper Moon" Azaleas EP (Psychic Hotline, 20) D
- Casey Donahew, "42 Miles" Years: Musicfest Tribute to Cody Canada (Right Ave, Jan 8)
- Murder by Death, "Blue Christmas" Lonesome Holiday (Tentshow, 20) D
Next week's Episode, we'll be honoring our yearly commitment to present our all holiday ROUTES-cast, perfect for unwrapping gifts or for laying in bed, staring at the ceiling wondering what became of all the joy. For those searching for their Christmas meaning in Andy Williams and Peggy Lee, you might want to check out the Hallmark Channel. Anybody looking for a remarkable range of new holiday expression will want to stick around.
Let's not overlook this week's additions to A Routes & Branches Guide To Feeding Your Monster, our eagerly updated account of what's on the horizon and what's just been released in our kind of music. Fans of Dead South's turbo-fueled 'grass fire will want to mark January 29 on their calendar, when the band will be releasing Served Live, served via Six Shooter Records. Throwback Memphis rocker with three first names John Paul Keith has announced his next full-length. Rhythm of the City hits shelves via Wild Honey on February 19. Those whose New Years resolution involves more soul in their 2021 will be on the lookout for Exciting Sounds of the Menahan Street Band. That collective's next record comes courtesy of the DapTone label on February 26. Back in April of this year, Israel Nash shared a five-song EP called Topaz. Nash will add five new songs to those, and release a full-length Topaz on March 12, on his own Desert Folklore label. To enjoy our weekly 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:
Earlier ROUTES-casts have been removed; subscribe to our Spotify page to keep up with all our new playlists!
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