FAVORiTE ALBUMs of 2021

ROUTES & BRANCHES 

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

December 8, 2021

Scott Foley, purveyor of dust

Maybe people don't really listen to albums anymore. Maybe songs are the coin of the realm. Here at R&B HQ, while we talk about albums, more than ever our ROUTES-casts are pretty much just a bunch of singles. 

When I was growing up we were beholden to the radio, unless we had money to spend on LPs. Cassettes made it possible for us to record music and to create mix tapes, thereby seizing control of our own listening experience. Fast forward (so to speak) to today where access to a phone or laptop permits us entry into a world of music experience. Technology has leveled the playing field. It has granted us our own broadcast license. We're all djs. 

Curiously, within the lifespan of the R&B blog, the way our site relates to music has become quaint. We listen to records, we share songs, we talk about music in much the same way we did when I was coming of age. Music discovery drives us. While exposing ourselves to new artists has become far easier than ever, too often listeners simply dig deeper into the music with which they're already familiar. Why cast about for a new voice when there's something "new" from Rodney Crowell, the Mavericks or the extended family of Willie Nelson (and heck, not to mention their entire catalog). 

There is a place in our kind of music for "legacy" artists, especially if they're committed to taking risks and trying new things. Nevertheless, looking back at the stuff we've shared over the past twelve months,     we've largely sided with those who are challenging, changing and expanding the tradition as opposed to those who are repeating it. There are plenty of blogs for folks who choose to relax into the safe and familiar.  

So here's to the musically restless among us. 

WHAT's SO GREAT ABOUT 2021?!!

or FAVORiTE ALBUMs

Just under 500 records were added to A Routes & Branches Guide To Feeding Your Monster in 2021 (so tell me again, music lover, that you've had a hard time finding stuff to enjoy). There have been gems and there have been turds. Here at R&B HQ we focus on the gems, celebrating stuff we think you might enjoy having on your musical radar. The turds will care for themselves. 

I'll always stress that this is all the skewed musical vision of just one man. Like what you like, tell me what I'm missing. My only hope is that our posts encourage you to engage with new music and less familiar artists. Below are thirty (30) projects that defined my year. Where possible, I've quoted our review. Otherwise, I've included a new blurb. Please enjoy responsibly. 

30. John R Miller, Depreciated  (Rounder, Jul 16)  To their great credit, artists like JP Harris and John R Miller remind us what brought us to this place to begin with. One of 2021's strongest singles, "Faustina" appeals to the Patron Saint of Mercy to calm the writer's restless soul. Atop a bed of Russ Pahl's pedal steel, the rambling guitar cut temporarily soothes our own musical wanderlust. A good song,  perfectly delivered: It was cigarettes outside an empty bar / On a dark December morning / Months of bad food and a pauper's guitar. It's a time-tested recipe for thirty minutes of musical satisfaction. 

29. Andrew Bryant, Meaningful Connection  (Sentimental Noises, Jul 9)  A Meaningful Connection is musically as extroverted a record as we've heard from Andrew Bryant. Tracks like "Spiritual Genocide" feature more complete, melodic arrangements even as nearly everything we hear on the album is produced by Bryant himself. The slicing guitar of "Reality Winner" or the melodic lines of "Lying On the Road" reach outward, opening to the listener instead of giving listeners the sense that we're eavesdropping on the artist's internal dialogue. There is also a sardonic humor here, a cultural commentary that might recall Father John Misty.

28. Lucero, When You Found Me  (Liberty & Lament, Jan 29)  Listeners who listen to the guitar-fueled tunes of When You Found Me and can only wish for another "Nights Like These" as opposed to embracing Nichols' ever-ripening musical vision or recognizing Lucero's evolution into an outfit of stellar instrumentalists. Ben Nichols' life has changed, and it wouldn't be genuine for him to continue writing songs about down-and-out debauchery and youthful misgivings. These new tunes recognize the songwriter as a storyteller, envisioning characters and populating history with flesh-and-blood personalities. For those of us who choose to follow Lucero as they explore new expressions, When You Found Me is richly rewarding. 

27. Esther Rose, How Many Times  (Father/Daughter, Mar 26)  In a recent interview, Esther Rose remarked about the redemptive qualities of all this yearning: You can sing your guts out and be as creepy and as sad as you want, and then after three minutes you're done and you're okay. It's a lesson learned at the feet of earlier masters like Ronstadt and Nick Lowe and ... maybe Minor Threat? Like Laura Cantrell, Rose is well informed by what's come before. Unlike Cantrell, she isn't beholden to country tradition on How Many Times. Which isn't to say that she's not capable of laying down a beautifully pure country melody on the album closer, "Without You": Good dirt road, now I know / All the places you would go / But I'm traveling alone, without you. 

26. Cody Jinks, Mercy  (Late August, Nov 12)  When the time comes for Cody Jinks to compile his Greatest Hits record he might want to make it a double. Followers of the independent country standard-bearer are typically rewarded with a couple releases every year, but each project offers at least a few solid keepers (here we'll tag "All It Cost Me" and the deceptively upbeat "Roll"). While his metallic Caned by Nod LP might have hinted at a Sturgill-esque restlessness, there's a no-frills steadiness and an outright consistency to Jinks' work that assures he wont wear out his welcome anytime soon. 

25. Emily Scott Robinson, American Siren  (Oh Boy, Oct 29)  The murmurs that began with 2019's Traveling Mercies are now full-throated accolades with the release of the North Carolina songwriter's third full-length project. Like her inspiration, the late Nanci Griffith, Robinson wraps her unique voice around acoustic songs that float unpretentiously between folk and country, bluegrass and gospel. What's sweet is genuinely so, and what's sad is delicious. 

24. Jason Eady, To the Passage of Time  (Old Guitar, Aug 27)  Nearly two years into this thing, I've given a good deal of thought about what makes up a pandemic record. Jason Eady had prepared an altogether different collection for his sixth record, but as COViD dawned he began to write songs the seemed more appropriate for the moment. To the Passage of Time is a pandemic record, intimate and unadorned, with songs that breathe and leave space more than they seek to fill it. Eady's spoken word piece, "French Summer Sun" deserve consideration as among the year's best. 

23. Son Volt, Electro Melodier  (Transmit Sound, Jul 30)  More than a quarter century after their 1995 debut (and three decades after the Uncle Tupelo record that is widely identified as birthing a musical movement), Son Volt has admirably avoided disappearing behind their legacy. Jay Farrar has grown and evolved as a writer, incorporating spot-on social commentary but always in service of his folk-rock vision. The tenth LP sounds like Son Volt, but Electro Melodier generates an electric spark missing from bands half their vintage. And while countless acts in our kind of music owe their existence to Farrar's work, absolutely nobody sounds like Son Volt. 

22. Heartless Bastards, A Beautiful Life  (Sweet Unknown, Sep 10)  That confidence exhibits itself in a decision to pare her message back to its essentials, setting aside the detritus and distraction of daily existence. Atop the orchestral pop of "When I Was Younger", Wennerstrom explains, I changed my view to a different hue / And now I can see clearly again. Much of the collection recalls the 1960s sonically or thematically, such as the Middle Eastern-flavored psychedelia of "The River" or the plucked strings on the Dusty Springfield-like "You Never Know". 

21. Nathaniel Rateliff & Night Sweats, The Future  (Stax, Nov 5)  Since the release of Rateliff's phenomenal 2010 In Memory of Loss, we've known him as an uncommonly sensitive songwriter. His 2015 debut as frontman for the Night Sweats allowed him an outlet for his inner soul man. With 2020's And It's Still Alright and this year's Night Sweats project, there seems to be a decreasing distance between Rateliff's songwriting personae. Even in the midst of horns and rhythms, The Future is his most song-oriented band collection. 

20. Robert Plant & Alison Krauss, Raise the Roof  (Rounder, Nov 19)  Nearly fifteen years after their groundbreaking Raising Sand defied all expectations for their unexpectedly successful collaboration, the classic rocker and the bluegrass Grammy magnet reconvene for a second collection of covers. Alongside alchemist/producer T Bone Burnett, they morph songs by Calexico, Haggard, Bert Jansch and more into exotic, percussive storms. Where the first meeting was a pleasant surprise, this second is a coronation. 

19. Lilly Hiatt, Lately  (New West, Oct 15)  The fact that Lilly Hiatt's father happens to be John Hiatt has delayed her recognition as an indie folk-rock icon meriting the same recognition as Lucy Dacus, Phoebe Bridgers, et al. Hiatt's fifth release arrives with its edge facing forward, typically boldfaced, occasionally dark reflections on the pandemic's reach into our collective psyche. Twang is occasionally embedded between buzzing guitars and cutting vocals, but this Hiatt is her own artist. 

18. Houndmouth, Good For You  (Dualtone, Nov 5)  Following the departure of one-quarter of their number, the Indiana outfit set out for further pastures for 2018's brighter, heavier produced Golden Age (which I'd argue was underrated). The trio's new project restores the roots elements which complemented the Midwest pop of their previous records not unlike the more worldly kin of Felice Brothers. 

17. Dori Freeman, Ten Thousand Roses  (Blue Hens, Sep 10)  Freeman's fourth full-length vaults the Galax, Virginia native near the front of the songwriting pack. Fuller, more contemporary arrangements don't erase her folk and country roots, and this wisely produced collection still includes those familiar trad instruments for the sake of grounding. But like her work with Teddy Thompson, Roses simply deploys those touchstones in service of Freeman's peerless vocals. 

16. Israel Nash, Topaz  (Desert Folklore, Mar 12)  Topaz is rich in place - not the Big Name music destinations we're familiar with, as much as the rural Dripping Springs that Israel Nash calls home. "Sutherland Springs" is his very personal response to the church shooting that hit too close to home, taking a nationally relevant issue and transforming it into a personally resonant event. When Nash opens the doors of his quonset hut studios, he's fostering a dialog between the artist and his world, breathing in the surrounding nature, exhaling poetry. Taking our news and pushing it through his soundboard, making a space for the natural world. And at the heart of it all is Israel Nash's unique creative vision, an expression that simply gets more individual and more rewarding with every record. 

15. Charles Wesley Godwin, How the Mighty Fall  (Godwin, Nov 5)  I've got nothing against tradition. Godwin is a standard bearer for trad done right, songs that echo across hills and hollers, but that collect modern stories and sentiment at every stop. As I wrote in praise of his 2019 Seneca debut: Godwin is never musically beholden to what's come before. To his credit as a writer, he tells a great story but never neglects his own role in carrying it all forward. This is the stuff that might just convert the ears of the unconvinced. 

14. Jason Isbell & 400 Unit, Georgia Blue  (Southeastern, Oct 15)  Of course, Isbell is arguably the best writer of his generation, and he lands at or near the pinnacle of our year-end favorites with each album. This lower-key project celebrates the deep writerly traditions of the Peach State, and it features Isbell taking a back seat at times to other voices like Brittney Spencer, Adia Victoria and Julien Baker. While no new ground is broken on these faithful reproductions of songs from Georgia's roots music canon, results make it one of the year's most satisfying listens. 

13. Golden and Rust, Golden and Rust  (Golden and Rust, Nov 2)  The LP's jacket simply frames two empty chairs, and another shot suggests a pair of skeletons. I've seen very little in the way of promotional support, and only a small handful of playlists have picked up on these gems. Joey Kneiser and Lew Card might have intended Golden and Rust to be a low-key one-off. But these songs and these writers deserve to land on more ears as we assemble our respective end-of-year favorites lists. 

12. Suzanne Santo, Yard Sale  (Soundly, Aug 27)  Yard Sale outperforms expectations. A cowrite with Shakey Graves, "Afraid of Heights" offers one of a number of glimpses of the pop sensibility behind Santo's craft. With Rose-Garcia's vocals haunting the edges of the recording, Santo sings like Jolie Holland in a hall of mirrors. She advises: C'mon honey / Toughen the fuck up. Elsewhere, on "Save For Love" she exercises restraint to great effect. Even in its darkest moments, these songs can be gorgeous in a velvet-curtained, gothic fashion. It's a setting in which the singer seems very much at home: Give that soul deep within you / A voice like a parable / And make room for the hateful / Seat 'em at your table. 

11. TK & the Holy Know-Nothings, Incredible Heat Machine  (Mama Bird, Oct 15)  In 2019, Taylor Kingman convened a cadre of Portland's most notorious musical ne'er do wells for the drunken hoot, Arguably OK. Now with the help of Bart Budwig, the five-piece prove that their Deer Tick-on-a-bender sound is no fluke. Heat Machine is less of a lark than its predecessor, boasting tighter, more purposeful songs without abandoning the haphazard spirit of that debut. Maybe the real secret of this rare remaining country bar band is how damn solid they actually are. 

10. James McMurtry, Horses and the Hounds  (New West, Aug 20)  Of course, McMurtry is undoubtedly among the Old Guard of our kind of music, and aside from a few scattered glimmers it's been years since the legend's heyday. Right? Well, Horses and the Hounds recalls those glories, finding the Texas songwriter in great voice, supported by a lean and lively band. With two sides full of McMurtry's most memorable stories and characters, has he sounded this good since Saint Mary? 

9.  Janet Simpson, Safe Distance  (Cornelius Chapel, Mar 19)  Safe Distance is an unpolished gem, a collection that finally brings Janet Simpson to the front of the stage, presenting her as more than just one part of a larger ensemble. Listeners for whom she is an unheard name would be wise to reach back to some of her earlier work, since these new sessions shine more brightly in that fuller context. As a musician, a writer and a vocalist, one hopes Distance will encourage her to get out of Birmingham more often. 

8.  John Murry, Stars Are God's Bullet Holes  (Submarine Cat, Jun 25)  I included Murry's brilliant 2013 Graceless Age among my favorites for the 2010s. The fascinating Murry left Mississippi for his current home in Ireland, but his songs still wrestle with the push and pull of that legacy. These songs challenge with impenetrable guitars (title track) and avoid expectations with an almost unrecognizable Duran Duran cover (would you believe "Ordinary World"). But there are also inscrutably beautiful moments and lyrics that swell the heart. Please don't overlook the series of remixes and alternate takes Murry has been sharing in past weeks. 

7.  Steel Woods, All of Your Stones  (Woods, May 14)  Most will lump The Steel Woods alongside Southern rock brethren like Blackberry Smoke and Whiskey Myers. But as the arrival of All of Your Stones attests, there is a depth and an originality to their sound, as well as a pervasive darkness. The Steel Woods deliver their literate, melodic Southern rock 'n country with the same gravitas as Isbell, but without the occasional sensationalism and artistic license of Patterson Hood. As the remaining members continue without Cope's essential contribution as a writer and musician, time will tell the impact of his loss. That said, this trio of records created by the collaboration of Bayliss and Cope is as worthy as almost any other in our kind of music.

6.  Adia Victoria, A Southern Gothic  (Atlantic, Sep 17)  Here is the album I've been hoping Adia Victoria would make since her 2016 debut, Beyond the Bloodhounds. The EPs and singles that followed, and then her excellent 2019 Silences found her slicing, dicing and reclaiming the blues and roots music. With the arrival of the incendiary "South Gotta Change" last Summer, in response to John Lewis' passing and George Floyd's murder, the table was set for Adia Victoria's third full-length project. 

5.  Ross Adams, Escaping Southern Heat  (Adams, Sep 10)  The backstory for this North Carolina artist's new project posits Adams striking up a friendship with Jason Isbell's bassist Jimbo Hart. The acquaintance would eventually lead to a three-day recording session in Muscle Shoals, with the full 400 Unit serving as Adams' backing band. The resulting tracks announce the arrival of as strong a singer-songwriter album as we've heard this year.

4.  Morgan Wade, Reckless  (Ladylike, Mar 19)  In collaboration with Sadler Vaden, Morgan Wade finds the truest expression of her artistry as a rock artist with roots tendencies. Like Kacey Musgraves she's stared down expectations and pursued her own muse. Like Lydia Loveless, Wade can acknowledge that she is flawed and can incorporate those rough edges into her songcraft. Perhaps like Ashley McBryde a certain fraction of the country crowd will embrace her as a truly gifted songwriter. In the end, if country can't find room for near rough gems like "Take Me Away" or "Other Side", that's their damn loss. 

3.  Weather Station, Ignorance  (Fat Possum, Feb 5)  Ignorance is a beautiful album, seeming both distantly cool and unbearably intimate. Composed on piano, the arrangements breathe and sigh with woodwinds and strings, familiar bass and guitar playing a largely supportive role. Ticking percussion trips beneath "Robber", a dark song punctuated with dramatic bursts of strings. Appropriate for a nature-oriented collection, these are organic sounds - flutes fluttering like reeling shearwaters on "Atlantic" as the singer questions her obligation to acknowledge what she knows to be true: I should really know better than to read the headlines / Does it matter if I see it? / Why can't I just cover my eyes? Lindeman answers her own question on the racing "Heart": Of all the things that you may ask of me / Don't ask me for indifference / Don't come to me for distance. 

2.  Yola, Stand For Myself  (Easy Eye Sound, Jul 30)  My sense in 2018 was that Yola was poised to become something special, that the success of Fire would simply serve as an intro that would spark more. Stand For Myself confirms that suspicion, tagging Yola as a relevant writer and vocalist who has constructed her vision within Dan Auerbach's musical sandbox. While those retro elements remain to some extent, they are no longer the focal point of the sessions. Yola has risen to eclipse those trappings, to become the bright hot sun in this creative universe. What's more, Stand both redefines and overflows the boundaries of the americana world that first embraced her. Those days are gone forever / When I gave you whatever you want. 

1.  Allison Russell, Outside Child  (Concord, May 21)  Allison Russell is a peerless singer, with a voice capable of both breaking hearts and uplifting souls. The country-informed "Persephone" is one of the year's most worthy singles, ringing out like a newfound Be Good Tanyas cut. With clarinet and pedal steel, the song follows the narrator as she flees from her abuser and into the arms of a friend: My petals are bruised but I'm still a flower / Come running to you in the violet hour. There's also great magic in the rock 'n pop of "The Runner". Joined by Yola, Russell sings of finding escape and deliverance in music. It's almost a cinematic moment as told by the singer: Then I heard that rock 'n roll / Outside the South Hill Candy Store / Felt myself walking in / I was above me, I was standing right beside me / And I saw my deliverance. 

2021 Award of Exceptional Merit: Highway Butterfly: Songs of Neal Casal  In all honesty, there was no album this year whose arrival I anticipated more, or with whose reach I was more impressed. I tend not to include Various Artists projects on my favorites list, because they are the work of a disconnected assortment of talents. This tribute to the music of the late instrumentalist, songwriter and photographer is the passion project of a close-knit team of collaborators - friends and bandmates of Casal who recognize the magnitude of his loss from the music world. While the artists who populate this 5-LP/3-CD set range across the entirety of the roots rock spectrum, there is a cohesive nature to the package. It's sprawling, and like most collections features its highs and its less-highs. But overall it's a remarkable document and a necessary reminder of the essential work Casal left behind.