ROUTES & BRANCHES
featuring the very best of americana, alt.country and roots music
February 19, 2023
Scott Foley, purveyor of funktry
Upon the release of her 2020 debut, we wrote: Where Brit Taylor reaches for more traditional country sounds, she hits her target admirably. Then we launched into a couple paragraphs in praise of those moments where Real Me strayed into modern vintage territory. So turns out we liked the entire thing, much of which featured cowrites with Dan Auerbach.
Casting about for producers for her follow-up record, the East Kentucky native struggled to find collaborators who didn't arrive with their own sonic agenda. A call to longtime country producer/engineer David Ferguson (Johnny Cash, Charley Pride, John Prine) garnered her studio time alongside not just Ferguson but also fellow Kentucky product Sturgill Simpson. The product of their work, Kentucky Blue (Cut A Shine) favors a more country-leaning sound, while leaving room for the range of influences that add real dimension and repeated listenability.
As with Real Me, Taylor pairs with journeyman writers such as Pat McLaughlin, Adam Wright, and Jerry Salley on her new songs. The title cut for Kentucky Blue delivers touches of 'grass in Stewart Duncan's fiddle and Mark Howard's mandolin for a lovely, yearning number, a paean to her idol Loretta Lynn's seminal "Blue Kentucky Girl": Now the only blue that's real / Is the blue you made me feel / When you said goodbye. Duncan's bluegrass fiddle also introduces "Cabin In the Woods", ushering in a kickdrum and banjo. The rubbery bridge and church organ add a contemporary bent to the skip rhythm, a trend that carries throughout the album.
Many of the songs on Kentucky Blue live in this good-natured vibe, branding "Anything But You" as an infectious invitation onto the dancefloor. Mike Rojas' piano dovetails with fiddle and pedal steel on the upbeat track. Brit Taylor calls "If You Don't Wanna Love Me" funktry, with its soul-deep groove and wailing harmonica and woo-hoo vocal whoops. "Ain't a Hard Livin'" typifies the way in which these upbeat songs land so perfectly, with seemingly effortless delivery, lodging so readily in the listener's ear. The same praise can be cast on Taylor's vocals, which never reach to impress, but always land just right.
Some of Brit Taylor's strongest moments come from quieter songs like the beautiful "Love's Never Been That Good To Me". A bittersweet, string-heavy ballad, it creates space for the vocalist to demonstrate vulnerability. There is a disco spirit to "For a Night" that recalls the sparkle 'n shine of Kacey Musgraves' more recent work. It's an outlier, but also one of the cuts I've dragged into my folder for end-of-year consideration.
Taylor delivers her new tracks with attitude and confidence, especially on "Rich Little Girls": 9-to-5 / Honey I wish / More like 24-7 / The only days off that I'm gonna get / Are when I get to heaven. "No Cowboys" is a Nashville diss number set to a border conjunto arrangement replete with accordion, casting shade on wannabes desperate to be desperados. As we rush headlong into 2023, there are few high-profile americana releases that merit the praise of Kentucky Blue. Under the guidance of producers Ferguson and Simpson, Brit Taylor has met and even surpassed the promise of her under-the-radar debut.
ROUTES-cast FEBRUARY 19, 2023
^ Brit Taylor, "For a Night" Kentucky Blue (Cut A Shine, 23)
- Wood Brothers, "Pilgrim" Heart is the Hero (Honey Jar, Apr 14) D
- Joy Oladokun, "Changes" Proof of Life (Amigo, Apr 28) D
- Rusty Truck, "Be On My Side" Rusty Truck (Rusty Truck, Feb 24)
- Hurray for the Riff Raff, "Saga (Acoustic)" single (Nonesuch, 23) D
- Cory Hanson, "Housefly" Western Cum (Drag City, Jun 28) D
- Parker Millsap, "What You've Shown Me" Wilderness Within You (Okrahoma, May 12) D
- Dolly Parton, "Last Thing On My Mind" I Am a Pilgrim: Doc Watson at 100 (Fli, Apr 28) D
- Mike Stinson & Johnny Irion, "Bottle and Me" Working My Way Down (Blackwing, Mar 24)
- Dave Alvin & Jimmie Dale Gilmore, "Borderland" single (Yep Roc, 23) D
- Margo Price, "Shotgun Willie" One Night in Texas: Next Waltz's Tribute to Red Headed Stranger (Next Waltz, Apr 28)
- Charles Wesley Godwin, "Crooked Teeth (live)" Live From the Church EP (CWG, 23)
- Erin Enderlin, "Weddings Funerals & Empty Hotel Bars" single (Black Crow, 23) D
- Benjamin Dakota Rogers, "Back To You" Painted Horse (Good People, 23)
- Amanda Fields, "Moving Mountain (ft Megan McCormick)" What When and Without (Are and Be, Feb 28) D
- Doug Paisley, "Rewrite History" Say What You Like (Outside, Mar 17)
- Courtney Patton, "Telephone Line" single (Patton, 23) D
- Hackles, "Birdcage" What a Beautiful Thing I Have Made (Jealous Butcher, Apr 7)
- Elijah Ocean, "Heart Replacement" single (Ocean, 23) D
- Spencer Cullum, "Betwixt and Between (ft Erin Rae)" Coin Collection 2 (Full Time Hobby, Apr 14) D
- Ellie Turner, "I Love You Song" When the Trouble's All Done (Muhly Grass, Mar 24)
- Nickel Creek, "Holding Pattern" Celebrants (Repair, Mar 24)
- Robbie Fulks, "One Glass of Whiskey" Bluegrass Vacation (Compass, Apr 7) D
- Mary Elizabeth Remington, "Dresser Hill (ft Adrianne Lenker)" In Embudo (Loose, 23) D
- Caroline Spence, "There's Always Room (Alternate Version)" True North (Deluxe) (Rounder, Jun 16)
- Alela Diane, "Of Love (Live at the Old Church)" single (Diane, 23) D
- Angelica Rockne, "Age of the Voyeur" Rose Society (Fluff & Gravy, May 5) D
- Caroline Rose, "Doldrums" Art of Forgetting (New West, Mar 24)
- New Pornographers, "Angelcover" Continue As a Guest (Merge, Mar 31)
- Country Westerns, "Speaking Ill of the Blues" Forgive the City (Fat Possum, Apr 28)
Too Much Good Stuff on A Routes & Branches Guide To Feeding Your Monster, our generously appointed new release calendar. Since last we convened, Brothers Comatose have announced the next in a series of underappreciated records. You really should pay attention to Ear Snacks, coming March 2 (Swamp Jam). Waco Brothers began making music since the early 90s. Expect more with The Men That God Forgot on March 29 (Plenty Tuff). Same could be said for Robbie Fulks. He'll add to his eclectic body of work with Bluegrass Vacation, due April 7 via Compass Records. St Paul & the Broken Bones continue their journey on the outskirts of roots 'n soul. ATO will share Angels in Science Fiction come April 21. Finally, Parker Millsap is riding on an excellent streak of very good records. There's more on the horizon when he releases Wilderness Within You on May 12 (Okrahoma).
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