featuring the very best of americana, alt.country and roots music
April 30, 2023
Scott Foley, purveyor of dust
April's one of those blink-and-it's-gone months here in Our Faire Square State, with the promise of Spring alternating with a reminder that Winter has yet to release its grip. We're still making our way around the stuff on A Routes & Branches Guide To Feeding Your Monster, but I think we have a good lineup for our favorite songs of the month that was. We call it:
WHAT's SO GREAT ABOUT APRiL?!!
^ 1. Caleb Elliott, "Sweeter Paradigm" Weed Wine & Time (Single Lock, Apr 14)
Louisiana's Elliott opens his third collection with this ode to persistence. Coproduced alongside Ben Tanner, the song's chorus rises like an abiding hope, like a light in the storm. An extended string outro encourages us forward. It's a lovely way to begin a record whose full charm is still taking hold.
2. Scott McMicken and THE EVER-EXPANDING, "Worried Mind", Shabang (Anti, Mar 31)
McMicken's not the only member of Dr Dog to have taken advantage of a band hiatus to indulge in a side project, but his is the most worthy. "Worried Mind" closes the album with a weedy stream-of-consciousness number: I got high up above my worried mind. With digital birds and impressionistic saxophone, it's a ramshackle release.
3. Lucinda Williams, "Stolen Moments" Stories From a Rock n Roll Heart (Hwy 20, Jun 30)
I eagerly await her just-released memoir, Don't Tell Anybody the Secrets I Told You. For now, we have this second single from her late-June project, a midtempo tribute to Tom Petty. The trademark roots rocker showcases her Buick 6 backing band, and reassures listeners that recent medical setbacks haven't slowed Williams' roll.
4. Hurray for the Riff Raff, "Resistance Rockers" Life on Earth (Deluxe Edition) (Nonesuch, Apr 21) Alynda Segarra's reissue of last year's Hurray record features this unheard gem. More direct that anything from the initial eclectic collection, the melodic shuffle recalls the band's formative days: When I go I'll do the radical angel band. The accompanying video features a clip of a very young Alynda in a concert mosh pit.
5. Ashley McBryde, "Devil I Know" single (Warner, Apr 7) Released on the heels of McBryde's excellent Lindeville concept project, this single embraces the electric side of her sound. "Devil" begins in a familiar acoustic country territory, but chugging drums and roaring guitars kick in to punctuate the peace throughout. Hell, there's Hell everywhere I go / So I'm sticking with the devil I know.
6. Charlotte Cornfield, "Cut and Dry" Could Have Done Anything (Double Double Whammy, May 12)
The Canadian songwriter's 2021 record, Highs in the Minuses received glowing praise here at R&B HQ. Early singles from the next full-length promise a more pop-centric project. With its sweet melody and steady strum, "Cut and Dry" recalls the warm melancholy of Ron Sexsmith.
7. Jason Isbell & 400 Unit, "They Wait" single (Southeastern, Apr 7)
Haven't sat down to watch the HBO show that documents the creation of Isbell's 2020 Reunions record, but it promises to be must-see tv. An unreleased track from those sessions, "They Wait" was offered in the midst of singles from June's Weathervanes. None of those new cuts shares the immediacy and grit of this orphan, which brings to mind Isbell's early solo work.
8. Kassi Valazza, "Smile" Kassi Valazza Knows Nothing (Fluff & Gravy, May 26)
Where the first couple singles from Knows Nothing favored the folk side of the Portland songwriter's country-folk balance, the pedal steel and vocal lilt of "Smile" occupy the other side of the equation. One of the most buzzed-about releases for the first half of 2023, songs like this will give Valazza a place in line for end-of-year accolades.
9. Angelica Rockne, "Rose Society" Rose Society (Fluff & Gravy, May 5)
Another terrific single from what's shaping up to be a solid second album from this rising California star. "Rose Society" spotlights Rockne's Margo Price-like delivery atop the simmering Laurel Canyon arrangement. At the Rose Society / Where the dead got their hands dirty / It's where we are humbled and held.
10. Joy Oladokun, "Taking Things For Granted" Proof of Life (Verve, Apr 28)
Oladokun has had a very productive run of late, sharing several singles that have found a permanent home on Proof of Life. While other tunes feature prominent guests, nobody shines brighter than Oladokun herself, whose dusky voice is as engaging as almost any other. Nontrad production cements the appeal, with watery effects and a strong bass undercurrent.
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- Cory Branan, "Gatlinburg" single (Blue Elan, 23) D
- Jason Isbell & 400 Unit, "Cast Iron Skillet" Weathervanes (Southeastern, Jun 9)
- Amanda Shires & Bobbie Nelson, "Summertime (ft Willie Nelson)" Loving You (ATO, Jun 23) D
- Margo Price, "Hands on the Wheel (ft Particle Kid)" Spotify Singles (Loma Vista, 23) D
- Nicholas Jamerson, "Billy Graham Parkway" Peace Mountain (Bingo Shack, May 19) D
- Robert Ellis, "On the Run" Yesterday's News (Niles City, May 19)
- Colter Wall, "Evangelina" Little Songs (Black Hole, Jul 14) D
- Tommy Prine, "Mirror and a Kitchen Sink" This Far South (Nameless Knight, Jun 23)
- Milk Carton Kids, "North Country Ride" I Only See the Moon (Far Cry, May 19)
- Johanna Samuels, "Holy Mothers (ft Madison Cunningham)" Bystander (Jealous Butcher, Jun 23)
- Austin Lucas, "Pints of Guinness Make You Strong" Reinventing Against Me! (GrindEthos, Jun 2)
- Kevin Morby, "Five Easy Pieces Revisited" More Photographs (a Continuum) (Dead Oceans, May 26) D
- Dean Johnson, "Shouldn't Say Mine" Nothing For Me Please (Mama Bird, May 5)
- M Ward, "Supernatural Thing" Supernatural Thing (Anti, Jun 23) D
- Jess Williamson, "Chasing Spirits" Time Ain't Accidental (Mexican Summer, Jun 9)
- Old Crow Medicine Show, "Louder Than Guns" single (ATO, 23) D
- Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway, "El Dorado" City of Gold (Nonesuch, Jul 21) D
- Billy Strings, "California Sober (ft Willie Nelson)" single (Reprise, 23) D
- Marc Ribot, "Lost Soul (ft Eszter Ballint)" I Am a Pilgrim: Doc Watson at 100 (FLi, 23)
- Joy Oladokun, "Somebody Like Me" Proof of Life (Amigo, 23)
- Dex Romweber, "Good Thing Going" Good Thing Goin' (Propeller, May 5) D
- Low Cut Connie, "Are You Gonna Run" Art Dealers (Contender, Sep 8) D
- Sam Blasucci, "Linger" Off My Stars (Innovative Leisure, Jun 2)
- John Andrews & Yawns, "Walking Under My Loves Ladders" Love For the Underdog (Woodsist, 23)
- James & the Giants, "Dead of Night" James & the Giants (Kill Rock Stars, Jun 30)
- SUSTO, "My Entire Life" My Entire Life (New West, Jul 28) D
- Deer Tick, "Forgiving Ties" Emotional Contracts (ATO, Jun 16) D
- Country Westerns, "Knucklen" Forgive the City (Fat Possum, 23)
- War & Treaty, "Whiskey River" Spotify Singles (Mercury, 23) D
- Phosphorescent, "Party's Over" One Night in Texas: Next Waltz's Tribute to Red Headed Stranger (Next Waltz, 23)
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