ROUTES & BRANCHES
featuring the very best of americana, alt.country and roots music
March 5, 2023
Scott Foley, purveyor of dust
Back in March of 2020 we drew your attention to an under-the-radar release from Jesse Ebaugh and his Tender Things on the occasion of their sophomore collection, How You Make a Fool. Ebaugh had served time with Heartless Bastards, as well as playing with lesser-known acts like Kenton County Regulators and Pearlene. In the ensuing years, Tender Things have pretty much remained beneath the radar, despite creating some terrifically listenable roots music. Where Fool dwelt in country corners, their new project, That Texas Touch (Spaceflight), expands their reach to incorporate more country-soul and roots rock influences.
That new touch on That Texas Touch certainly has something to do with their decision to pair with producer Gordy Quist, fellow Austin resident and member of Band of Heathens. You might hear it on the Little Feat-inflected "Take Shelter" or on the title track, which dispenses the sage advice: To get off / You gotta get it on. "That Texas Touch" bounces on bass keys and a slinky spirit, reveling in a loose, stoney funk heretofore unheard from Tender Things. With its up-front cowbell and chugging guitar, "I Can Love" plays like a missing Georgia Satellites number. Ebaugh's spoke-sung lyrical recitation sets the song apart. He muses: Pull my string / I can be your toy.
With his squarer-than-thou thick-framed specs and perfectly-poised cowboy hat, the frontman cuts an distinct figure. As tunes lean increasingly into the hippie-cosmic-country vibe, Tender Things are evolving into something larger than just another band of superb industry vets. An on-demand bassist and pedal steeler, Ebaugh is joined by bandmates who have played with Asleep At the Wheel, Nikki Lane, Steve Earle's Dukes and more. "Pale Blue" floats effortlessly on Bakersfield fumes, the mirage complete with flashes of steel and fiddle. Stay drunk all the time as an act of contrition, Ebaugh sings on the swampy "My Condition": I can't stop working on my addiction.
Suggesting black 'n white memories of a county fair, "Carousel" matches Wood Brothers groove-for-sticky groove, especially as the song kicks into a solid chorus, presenting Tender Things at their best. The reason that it works is because it is loose - that's how Jesse Ebaugh closed a recent Austin Chronicle piece. Like Band of Heathens or Nude Party, Ebaugh's outfit can drop into a sonic slipstream at will, injecting soul into a strong vein of cosmic country - That Texas Touch. In interviews, the bandleader indicates that while he's a working musician, he finds his joy in sticking closer to home, spending time on festival stages rather than buses or in hotel rooms. It's under-the-radar as a lifestyle and a strategy, and it just might work.
- Drayton Farley, "Devil's in NOLA" Twenty On High (Hargrove, 23)
- Rodney Crowell, "Everything All At Once (ft Jeff Tweedy)" Chicago Sessions (New West, May 5) D
- Logan Halstead, "Kentucky Sky" Dark Black Coal (Halstead, May 5) D
- Carolyn Mark, "None of Me" Off Season (Terrible Hostess, 23) D
- Nathaniel Rateliff, "Blue Eyes Crying In the Rain" One Night In Texas: Next Waltz Tribute to Red Headed Stranger (Next Waltz, Apr 28)
- Nude Party, "Sold Out of Love" Rides On (New West, Mar 10)
- Amanda Fields, "Trail of Unforgiveness (ft Ryan Culwell)" What When and Without (Are and Be, 23)
- Luke Laird, Lori McKenna, Barry Dean, "Settling In" Songwriter Tapes Vol 1 (CN, 23)
- Slaid Cleaves, "Nature's Darker Laws" Together Through the Dark (Candy House, 23)
- William Prince, "Easier and Harder" Stand In the Joy (Six Shooter, Apr 14)
- Robert Ellis, "Gene" Yesterday's News (Niles City, May 19)
- Tommy Prine, "This Far South" This Far South (Nameless Knight, Jun 23) D
- Ben de la Cour, "Shine On the Highway" Sweet Anhedonia (Jullian, Apr 14)
- Peter Case, "Have You Ever Been In Trouble" Doctor Moan (Sunset Blvd, Mar 31)
- Goodnight Texas, "It's Enough" single (Two Cent Bank Check, 23) D
- Caitlin Canty, "Odds of Getting Even" Quiet Flame (Canty, Jun 23)
- Panhandlers, "Flat Land" Tough Country (Panhandlers, 23)
- Lucero, "Carry Me Home" Should've Learned By Now (Liberty & Lament, 23)
- Brothers Comatose, "Ain't No Grave (ft Charlie Parr)" Ear Snacks (Swamp Jam, 23) D
- Califone, "Habsburg Jaw" villagers (Jealous Butcher, May 19) D
- Youth Lagoon, "Idaho Alien" Heaven Is a Junkyard (Fat Possum, Jun 9) D
- Bohannons, "Sense It Out" Night Construction (Cornelius Chapel, May 12) D
- Kassi Valazza, "Corners" Kassi Valazza Knows Nothing (Fluff & Gravy, May 26)
- William Tyler & Impossible Truth, "Area Code 601" Secret Stratosphere (Merge, Mar 31) D
- Boygenius, "Not Strong Enough" the record (Interscope, Mar 31)
- Hackles, "City's Cry" What a Beautiful Thing I Have Made (Jealous Butcher, Apr 7)
- Bonny Doon, "Naturally" Let There Be Music (Anti, Jun 16)
- Karen Jonas, "Elegantly Wasted" The Restless (Yellow Brick, 23)
- NQ Arbuckle, "No Hands Bicycle" Love Songs For the Long Game (Six Shooter, May 19) D
^ Tender Things, "Pale Blue" That Texas Touch (Tender Things, 23)
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